Another Week in the Life
by AnneM.Oliver
Summary: Sequel to A Week in the Life. It's been 4 months since that pivotal week, and Hermione and Draco are happy, right? Now, follow them the week before their wedding, as Draco finally gets the girl of his dreams, and Hermione feel like she's in a nightmare.
1. Day One Saturday Another Week in the

**all characters belong to JKR**

**Another Week in the Life**

(A Sequel to "A Week in the Life")

By

Anne

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**Saturday, Day One**

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**Saturday Morning, ****9 am****:****  
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Sometimes their apartment just seemed too small for one person, let alone two. In fact, Hermione actually felt like the walls were about to close in on her. She was suffocating and drowning, at the same time, and no one could hear her scream for help. It was not that she did not want to live with him. It was just that he was driving her up a wall; and in this cramped little apartment, and there was not even a spare wall for her to climb.

They had been living here together for four months now. Four months of his excessive neatness, four months of his whining about her books, and her cat, four months of his leaving the toilet seat up. She felt if she had to spend one more second in this tiny little flat with him, then she was going to turn her wand toward her own heart and in a puff of smoke just disappear. That's what was happening. She felt as if she was disappearing, and it was entirely his fault. When he first suggested that he come live here with her, she thought he was crazy. He could afford any size flat they wanted. They could have tons of room and some to spare. However, he wanted to live here. Idiot.

Draco was sitting in the living room on the couch. He no doubt had cat hair all over his expensive black trousers. For someone who only wore black, it was not a happy arrangement to live with a big, orange fur ball. He opened his paper, to find that she had torn out half of page two. How many times had he asked her please to leave his paper intact until he had read the entire thing? Granted, he always read it twice, and maybe she thought he was done with it, but more than likely, she was just being inconsiderate, and did not care if he had read it yet.

He was going batty living in this little one bedroom flat with her and her cat. She always left dirty dishes lying around everywhere. She threw wet towels on the bathroom floor. Draco was somewhat of a neat freak, so that drove him crazy. She refused to let his house elves come live here, though granted, where would they stay? The place was that damn small. Unbeknownst to her, he had them come in once a week to clean the place. Sure, he could afford for them to live in a much bigger place, but he thought it would be quaint and sweet for them to live here together. Gee, was he ever wrong.

Hermione knew he hated her cat. He told her it defied the laws of nature that Crookshanks was even still alive. True, he was really, really old, but he was no bother to anyone. He ate, slept, and went to the litter box. At least he didn't leave the toilet seat up, or refuse to put his shoes in the closet.

When Draco found out that she had access to the attic of this building through her apartment, he was thrilled. He thought that maybe they could renovate, and make some more space. Imagine his horror when he discovered that she had already put that space to use. Yes, alert the media, Hermione Granger had the entire attic filled to the brim with books. Books! It was wall to wall and floor to ceiling, books. No one in their right mind would need that many books. No one in their wrong mind would need that many books.

Speaking of closets, one of the things Hermione originally loved about this flat was that the bedroom had two large closets. Well, imagine her surprise when Draco moved in along with all his clothes. For someone who only wore black, he had so many clothes! She originally, out of the goodness of her heart, gave him one whole closet for his things. Now, somehow, four months later, he had taken up over half of her closet as well. This was getting out of control.

The bloody girl didn't even know the meaning of privacy. For instance, Draco could be minding his own business, taking a bath, and she would just walk right in the bathroom and start brushing her teeth, or shaving her legs. For goodness sakes, for a woman that was once afraid for him to go to the bathroom in front of her, she certainly wasn't modest anymore.

Therefore, on this chilly December, Saturday morning, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were both contemplating their current living situation at the same time, but unknown to the other. She walked into the living room, with the ugly orange beast in her arms, and he said, "Granger, how many times have I told you to leave my paper intact until I've read it all."

As she put the cat down on his lap, HIS LAP, she grabbed the paper from him and said, "Malfoy, how many times have I told you not to lock my cat outside at night? The poor thing was half frozen and starving when I found him."

Draco gave the cat the dirtiest look he could give a cat, and said, "Shame he didn't freeze to death." Then he pushed him off his lap to the floor.

Hermione took the paper she had just rolled up, and hit him over the head with it. Not just once, not just twice, but three times! Bop, bop, bop, right on top of his head! "What the hell?" he asked.

"Listen, Malfoy, we need to talk about our current living arrangement," she began, throwing the paper to the floor. She sat on the coffee table so she was facing him, and he sat back on the couch and gave her a weary look as she began. "This place is just too small for two people."

"So, you want me to move out?" he assumed.

No, that _was not_ what she meant. "No, it's just; I wish you hadn't sublet your apartment to your cousin. I mean, I know we had no idea we would be living together, but that place was massive, and we would have had tons of room. I just think we need to get a bigger place."

Draco was not about to tell her the reason he sublet his apartment was that he had hoped they would move in together. "We could move to the Manor," he suggested.

"Oh, yes, I can imagine calling that 42 room mansion 'home sweet home'. I don't think we need THAT big of a place," Hermione drawled.

He pulled her from the coffee table and held her on his lap. With his arms tightly around her waist he said, "Let's go make love."

She hit his arm, and stood up. "Honestly, the attention span of a flea!" she said to herself, but hoping he would hear. She went to walk out of the room, when he stood up and grabbed her arm.

"Don't you want me around anymore?" he asked.

"Honestly, Draco, I told you that wasn't it! You can't tell me this whole situation isn't driving you crazy as well, because I know it is," she said exasperated.

He looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes, which on Draco, just looked like his usual smirk, and when she narrowed her eyes and looked like she was about to punch him in the jaw, he decided to change tactics.

"Fine, Granger, We'll find a solution to this problem. I love you and I want you to be happy," he said in all seriousness.

"I love you too, Malfoy, and I want us to be together, but I want us to be able to have some alone time as well. You know, some privacy." She walked up to him, put her arms around his neck, and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"Can we go make love now?" he asked again.

She hit him on the chest, and bellowed, "If you don't give me your full, undivided attention for a few moments, then we may never make love again!"

"It's not my fault, its little Draco's fault. He just really fancies you sometimes, and he talks with his head, not his heart." He laughed, and so did she when she realized his double entendre. "Fine, Granger, I guess we are encroaching on each other's personal space, so I think I have the perfect solution," he decided with a smile.

"So, we're of the same mindset then?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"Let's move!" she said at the same time that he said, "Let's get married."

She heard him, but shook her head in disbelief. "What did you say?" she asked.

"What did you say?" he asked back.

"Well, I said let's move, but it sounded like you said 'let's get married'."

"I did say that." He frowned.

"How will getting married solve our problem?" she wondered.

"Listen, Miss Granger, are we or are we not engaged?" he interrogated her.

She held up her fourth finger of her hand, on which there was a rather large emerald and diamond ring, and pointed at it with her index finger of her other hand as her answer. Then she held up two other fingers to him, to put him in his place. That wasn't necessary.

"So, if we're engaged," he continued, ignoring her rude gesture, "then why don't we get married, and then move to a bigger flat, or maybe even a house."

"Why do we have to get married before we move?" she asked plaintively. He walked over to her, and took her by the hand to the bathroom. He stood with her in front of the mirror, which held both their reflections.

"See that woman in the mirror? I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. What do you see in the mirror?" he asked.

She stared at both their reflections for a moment, and then leaned closer to the mirror and said, "I see that there's a crack in the plaster on the wall behind the toilet." She whipped around and pointed, in all seriousness, and she looked up at him and said, "See it, Malfoy, right over the toilet? We should tell George about that." He gave her a death glare, and he walked out of the bathroom.

She couldn't help changing the subject. She did that every time he mentioned setting a date. The thing was, she really did love him, but she didn't know if she wanted to get married yet. In fact, she didn't know if she ever wanted to get married. She didn't want to lose him, and if she admitted that to him, he would leave her, and rightly so.

He walked up to the front door, and was about to storm out of the flat, when she ducked under his arm, and leaned her back against the door to close it. He was still staring at her with half-closed eyes that relayed his anger, when she put her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him. She put her lips on his, and gave him a long and passionate kiss. He did kiss her back, thinking 'but that doesn't mean this is over'. Damn 'little Draco'!

They moved to the bedroom slowly, still kissing. She tore off his shirt, and then she reached down and tore off her own. She unbuckled his trousers and pushed him on the bed. She jumped on top of him, and removed her bra. She was just about to give him another big kiss, when he suddenly sat back up, picked her up by her waist, deposited her on the bed, stood up, buckled his slacks and grabbed his t-shirt off the floor. She sat there in disbelief, as he slammed the front door behind him as he left.

**Saturday, ****Noon**:

He was gone for two hours. When he got back, Hermione was at the kitchen table, feverishly working on a piece of parchment. As he entered, she put her quill down and said with a small voice, "Hi."

Draco nodded his head, and sat down opposite her. "What are you writing?" he asked.

"Before I tell you, let me apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to dismiss your feelings like that, I really was trying to use sex to distract you, and that was low. I mean, that would be low even for you," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her and asked, "Do you want to marry me?"

She thought for a moment, and said, "Truthfully, I don't know." She looked down at the floor, afraid to make eye contact with him. She looked back up finally, and she saw that he had a frown on his face, and he was staring at her intently.

"Do you want to marry me?" she asked.

"Yes, I thought I made that plain. What do you want me to do, write it in blood and seal it with a kiss?" he retorted.

"What?" she asked, "Are you daft? Just tell me why you want to get married."

"Because that's what I want," he surmised.

"That's not an answer," she pointed out.

He sighed, dropped his head on the table, and asked, "Are you ever going to want to marry me?" He didn't look up, mostly because he was afraid that her eyes would reveal the truth, even if she lied to him. When she didn't answer, he looked back up, and saw she was again writing on the piece of parchment. "Can't you stop what you're doing for a minute, Hermione, and answer my question," he pleaded.

"Oh, I just had something I had to add in my 'pro' column," she said, while still writing.

"What are you going on about now?" he asked as he moved the parchment toward his side of the table. Sure enough, there in big bold letters was a pro and con list, aptly title, _"Reasons Malfoy and I should get married"_ He began to read the list, and he said, "I don't think number three on the 'con' side is a valid point." He continued to read and laughed at one point and said, "Only you would put number seven as a 'pro', Granger." When he had finished reading the list, he took her quill from her, and wrote something under the 'pro' side and handed it back. He wrote, _"Because he loves me."_

Underneath what he wrote, she wrote, _"Because I love him"_. She handed the paper back to him and said, "You do see that I have twice as many pros as I do cons."

"So, what does this mean?" he asked.

"I guess we're getting married," she replied matter of fact.

He grinned, an almost wicked grin, and actually got up so fast from his chair that he knocked it over onto the floor. He grabbed her and said, "Let's go finish what we started earlier. We can even do number eleven on your pro list, if you want." She giggled and ran with him to the bedroom.

**Saturday, afternoon:**

They stayed in bed most of the afternoon. Finally, they decided to take a bath together. Hermione had her back up against Draco's chest, and he was using a big sponge to wash her arms. He leaned her up and started moving the sponge in small circles up and down her back. It felt like heaven. He reached over for the shampoo, and started to lather her hair. Taking a bath with Hermione was one of the most erotic and sensual things he felt they did together. He felt closer to her in the bath than he ever did anywhere else. It was where she was the most vulnerable and where she was the most upfront and open. He felt they were more intimate in this setting than any other, so while he had her in his clutches, her guard was down, and she was utterly relaxed, he decided to tell her his plan.

He continued to lather her hair and said, "I think we should get married pretty soon, don't you?"

"Hhmm?" she hummed.

"I said we should get married soon," he continued, as he took a large cup and started to rinse her hair. He rinsed it three more times, then pulled her back against his chest, and held her in his arms. He started to kiss her neck, and she put both her arms above her head to reach around and hug his neck. From this position, her breasts were raised, they seemed full and glorious, and he could not resist putting both hands on them and giving them a squeeze. She turned around in the tub and gave him a hard and passionate kiss.

He was beginning to wonder if she was trying to use sex to avoid discussing their upcoming wedding again, but after their passionate kiss, she pushed away from him, sat with her back against the opposite end of the tub, and said, "So, when do you suppose we should do it? I mean, how soon is soon?"

Stalling, he took her foot, and rubbed her toes, before he gave the bottom of her foot a kiss, and then a bite, to which she splashed him, and then he said, "I think next Saturday would be perfect."

She pulled her foot from him, and looked at him in total shock. Did he seriously say next Saturday? Before she could ask him if he was crazy, he spoke. "I'll plan everything; the only thing you'll have to do is get your dress. I'll find the place, send out the invitations, find the Officiate, plan the rehearsal dinner, plan the reception, the honeymoon, the bachelor party, everything," he said without taking a breath.

She stood to leave the tub, but he pulled her back down to him. She was straddling his lap, and she had a terrified look on her face. He didn't want to give her time to respond, so he said, "If we're really going to do this, there's no time like the present."

"How is us getting married in a week going to solve our initial problem that we started with this morning; that being, that we need to find a bigger place to live?" she asked, while pointing out the obvious.

This time, he stood to leave. He stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his waist. She was still sitting in the water, glaring at him, and he pulled her up and wrapped her in a towel as well. He lifted her out of the water, and finally said, "Let me amend my previous statement. Not only will I plan the whole wedding, reception, bridal party, rehearsal dinner, etc, etc, but I will also find us a place to live."

"IN A WEEK?" she yelled.

"Do you doubt my abilities, Granger?" he gleamed.

She cocked her head to one side, and said, "I never doubt your abilities, but this is a lot to undertake." She padded to the bedroom, all the while drying herself. She went to the closet to pull out some clothes so she could dress. She pulled on a pair of knickers and then put on a matching bra.

He stood in the doorway, in only his towel, and said, "So, are we doing this thing, or not?"

"If I say yes, Malfoy," she began, as she slipped a shirt on over her torso, and then wrapped her hair in the towel, "then it's all up to you. It's your baby. You take care of everything. I'll get my dress, find someone to be my maid of honour, and someone to walk me down the aisle. I don't want to be involved with any other details of the planning, is that understood?"

He grinned so large that his mouth looked like it stretched from ear to ear. He ran to her, swung her around, and kissed her soundly on the mouth, as the towel that was covering her hair fell to the ground. "I promise that I'll take care of everything. The only thing I request is that you take the next two weeks off work. Week one, to pamper yourself before the wedding, because I'll be doing all the work, so you might as well have all the fun, and week two, for the honeymoon," he said as he kissed her neck.

"Do you really think this will be possible, Draco?" She looked worried.

"You worry too much, Granger. Just sit back and enjoy the show," he laughed as he put on a pair of jeans.

"By the way, Malfoy, in case you thought I was deaf in the bathroom, you will not be having a bachelor party," she said as she pulled on her own jeans.

"I most certainly will, Granger," he said stubbornly.

"No, no you won't," she said adamantly.

"Listen, you won't be telling me what to do during this wedding, or this marriage, Granger. I'm a grown man, and I always do what I want," he said again.

She actually stomped her foot on the floor, in which his response was to raise one eyebrow and smirk. She always wondered how he managed to do both of those things at once. Then she got a wicked idea. "Fine, Malfoy, have your little bachelor party. Have strippers, and whores, and alcohol, and unprotected sex, and all the other cliché things they do at bachelor parties. But know this; if you get a bachelor party, then I get a bachelorette party."

He gave her a hug and said, "There's no such thing you silly little witch".

He started to walk away from her and she said, "They're quite the fashion in the Muggle world, and being a Muggle-born, who am I to go against tradition?" She walked past him with a sashay of her hips, plopped down on the sofa, and picked up a book.

"What do Muggle women do at these bachelorette parties?" Draco asked, seeming concerned.

"Well, they drink alcohol, go to bars and watch male strippers," she said, while she continued to read. "They probably have lots of unprotected sex, as well. I'll have to get back to you on that one," she added, with her nose still in her book.

He grabbed her book and threw it across the room. "No fiancée of mine is going to watch a bunch of men take their clothes off, and you're certainly not having lots of sex with anyone but me!" he said in all seriousness.

"Well, that's the deal. If you get a bachelor party, then I get a bachelorette party. Take it or leave it." Now she smirked.

He glared at her, crossed his arms around his chest, and stood up. He was going to call her bluff. "Have your little bachelorette party, Granger. It won't bother me at all. Nevertheless, you have to plan it yourself. Now, I have a lot of work to do. I need to start making up the guest list, planning the food for the reception and rehearsal dinners, and make up our timeline. I need to get in contact my house elves, to make sure they can handle all the food. Where did you put that parchment and quill?" he asked as he left the room.

'My, God!' Hermione thought, 'I think I'm getting married to a poof'. He was acting like a little girl planning her first tea party. She stood up and walked to the kitchen, where he was sitting at the table, making his all of his 'lists'.

Still trying to goad him, she said, "I really am having that bachelorette party."

He didn't even look up from his list as he said, "Yeah, yeah, male strippers and alcohol, lots of sex, you'll have tons of fun. Now, leave me in peace for a while, I'm busy."

She picked up the closest thing to her, which just happened to be a wooden spatula that was lying on the stove, and threw it at his head. It hit him on the back of his head. When he turned around to see what hit him, all he saw was Hermione storming down the hall, and then he heard the front door slam. Oh well, no matter. He needed some peace and quiet to work anyway.

**Saturday evening:**

Hermione went to Ginny and Harry's house to tell them her news. They were both shocked, to say the least. Harry didn't want to admit that Hermione's relationship with Malfoy was even real. Ginny kept hoping that Hermione would soon come to her senses and end it all, and now she was telling them that she was getting married.

"I suppose we should go out tonight to celebrate," Ginny said, while giving Harry an incredulous look. "A sort of engagement party," she added.

Ginny contacted Ron and Lavender, and Neville and Luna. Harry sent an owl to the George, and then he used the other fireplace to contact Dean and Seamus. Hermione said, "Someone should tell Draco."

To which Harry responded, "Does he have to come?" Both girls gave him a confounded look, before he realized what he said. "Oh yeah, he's the prospected groom." He then laughed, because he really did forget for a moment, and he said, "Hermione, you go tell Malfoy, and then met us at the bar at 8:00 pm."

Hermione apparated home, and entered the flat, calling out for Draco, "Hey, Malfoy, are you home?" He didn't appear to be home. Where could he be? He couldn't very well be out 'planning' this time of the evening. She went to change her clothes, and left him a note to tell him to meet them all at the bar for an impromptu engagement party.

When he arrived home, shortly after she left, he saw the note. He frowned. An impromptu engagement party thrown by a bunch of former Gryffindors was not exactly his cup of tea. Well if she was going to have her friends there, then he would invite some of his.

Hermione and her friends sat around a very large table at a very posh bar in the middle of Diagon Alley. When Harry arrived, he looked at Hermione, who was sans Draco, and said, "I was kidding when I told you not to invite him." She playfully punched his arm and told him that he would be there shortly. As least, she hoped he would be there shortly. She hoped that he saw her note.

After about 30 minutes, she really had given up on him, and none of the rest of the members of this little party seemed very concerned by his lack of attendance, so she decided to be 'unconcerned' as well. Therefore, when George Weasley asked her to dance, saying that she was not an old married woman yet, and therefore technically still single, she agreed to a dance, but she added that it was only _one_ dance.

She was dancing with George when she saw Draco arrive. He looked glorious - she had to admit. She smiled and then she thought, 'He's mine.' Then she mentally slapped herself, because it was degrading to think of the person you loved as your possession. As he walked toward their table his eyes scanned the length of it for her, and she noticed that he was not alone. With him was quite a few faces from their past. Not only was Blaise Zabini there, but so was Theodore Nott, Crabbe or Goyle (she still didn't know which one was which), and a couple of people from work, including Scott Cohn, Hermione's boss, and Scott's wife.

Draco started shaking hands with a few of the more familiar faces, Seamus, Dean, etc, and he introduced the less familiar faces from his group to the others. Hermione told George, "Draco's here, I should go to him."

George complained, "The song's almost over, just wait a few minutes." The fact was, it was a slow dance, and while she was not particularly paying attention to either her dance partner or the song, she was painfully aware of the fact that if Draco saw her dancing with George he would be more than a little upset. As she was musing over these very thoughts, his eyes scanned the dance floor and she saw Neville pointing toward her and saying something to Draco. 'Gee, thanks Neville', she thought.

Draco saw Hermione dancing with one of the Weasleys and all he could think was, 'How dare he - she's mine.' Draco knew that Hermione would cringe if she knew he thought of her as one of his possessions, but there you are, he couldn't change how he thought. Draco walked over to the dancing couple and as he approached he said, with a frown, "May I dance with my fiancée, Weasley?" George looked up, and merely nodded. He kissed Hermione's hand before he handed it to Draco.

Draco took Hermione in his arms, and pressed her closely up against him. She was so close that she could not see his expression. However, while she could not see his face, she knew from his body language that he was, without a doubt, peeved. When the song ended, he took her hand and without a word, led her toward the table.

They sat down, and everyone started asking them questions like, "Why are you getting married so quickly?" and, "When did you decide all this?" and other such rubbish. Malfoy, who seemed perfectly charming to everyone at the table, answered most of the questions. However, Hermione could tell he was still angry with her, for when she tried to reach for his hand under the table, he pulled away.

'Honestly,' she thought, 'I was just dancing with George'. He was like a brother to her. She was still very quiet, when Blaise Zabini came up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Would you care to dance?" She looked at Draco, who was attempting NOT to pay attention to Hermione, but who had whipped his head around when he heard his former housemate ask his fiancée to dance. She thought if he was already angry with her for dancing once, she might as well dance again. She turned to Blaise to grant her consent when Draco stood up, pushed Zabini, without elegance, to the side, and said, "Do not trespass upon my future wife, Blaise. There are plenty of single women here for you. Dance with one of them." He took Hermione by the hand and led her once more to the dance floor.

As they were dancing, silently again, Hermione finally spoke. "Are you going to be angry with me all evening, or are we going to enjoy and appreciate this little engagement party that my friends are throwing us?" She turned her face to the side and he turned his to look down at her. He thought she was so pretty when she was angry. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, as a way of saying "sorry", and they continued their dance. Hermione put her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek on his chest. He held her in his strong arms, enveloping her within their recesses, and she felt that all was right in the world.

He kissed the top of her head and said, "I love you. I'm sorry I was jealous. What a strange little emotion, jealousy. It causes men to feel envious and possessive."

"Is that the dictionary definition, Malfoy?" she inquired as she looked up in his eyes.

"Well forgive me for trying to enlighten the already extremely knowledgeable and enlightened Miss Granger," he said dryly.

"Let's get something to drink, Malfoy. I'm parched," she begged.

He took her hand and led her once again off the dance floor, but this time to the bar.  
"What would you like?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders, and he rolled his eyes at her indecisiveness. He ordered two whiskeys and handed one to her. She took a big gulp, and then coughed and sputtered, her eyes watering. He actually laughed, then took her glass from her, and ordered her a butterbeer. He told her, "That's what you get when you don't clearly state what you want." He finished his drink in one gulp, and then finished the rest of her whiskey as well. He ordered one more, then took his drink and hers and motioned to her to follow him back to the table. He was halfway to the table when he saw that she had not followed. He put their drinks down on the table and walked back to her.

She had a glassy, almost distant look to her. "Granger, what is it?" he asked with a bit of concern.

"Malfoy, do you realize that by this time next week we'll be married?" she exclaimed loudly.

"Gee, one shot of alcohol made you finally realize that, Granger?" He laughed.

"This is serious. It's not a laughing matter." She looked around, lost and forlorn. She said, "I don't think I can do this, Malfoy," and she ran to the woman's room. He looked around, in a bewildered sort of way, and then followed her to the bathroom.

There were at least two women at the vanity and some more in some of the stalls. A few of the women smiled at Draco and a couple yelled. He knocked on a couple of the stalls. When he couldn't locate her, he bent down on the floor, to find her feet. When he located them, he went up to that stall and said, "Granger, do you realize that we're in a lady's room?"

"I'm a lady, what's your excuse?" she said back.

"Listen, on that point I am well aware," he smirked back. He smiled at a couple of the women who were either pointing at him, or staring at him. "Granger, come out and let's talk," he pleaded.

"I need time to think," she said.

"In a lady's room?" he asked.

"Yes, I thought we already established the fact that I am a woman, so it makes sense that I would come in here. As I remember, you once took me to a men's room! Now go away, and let me think." She hesitated and then added, "Please."

"Listen, Granger, I need to know right now if you're seriously having second thoughts, because I can't go back out there until I know for sure." He pressed his face up to the crack between the door and the wall and stared at her. She opened the door and pulled him in with her.

"I don't know what's happening to me. Maybe this is all happening too fast. I mean, seriously, Draco!" she said as she pointed her finger at his chest. "We're getting married in only a week. ONE WEEK. I think I'm going to throw up." She turned toward the commode and leaned down.

He didn't know what to do. If she was this anxious then maybe, they should call it off, and postpone it, or at least wait a while. There wasn't really a reason to rush into this was there? They could still find a bigger place to live, and continue to live together, and get married later, couldn't they? The thing was, though, Draco didn't want to wait. He had wanted to marry her since their first date four months ago. Why should he let her little insecurities and worries keep him from what he wanted? Why should he always give in to her? She didn't even know what she wanted to drink, how could she decide something this big by herself?

"Listen, Hermione," he said, trying to sound calmer than he really felt, as he turned her to face him, "everything will be fine. You'll be fine. I'll take care of everything. You don't need to worry." He held her in his arms, and rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"I feel like you're forcing me into something I'm not sure about, and you once said you would never force me to do anything I didn't want to do," she stammered.

"Damn you and your good memory!" Draco retorted. Then he added with anger,  
"Do you seriously want to go out there and tell all our friends that our wedding, which we just announced a few hours ago, is now called off?"

"Don't try to guilt me into this, Malfoy," she said, with just as much anger.

"Fine, don't marry me!" he yelled. He pulled open the stall door, walked out of the bathroom, and stormed out of the bar. Hermione was close on his heels though, and stopped him outside before he could disappear.

"Stop acting like a spoiled brat!" Hermione spat at him, as she whipped him around to face her.

"And you stop acting like a simpering, whining, little girl, who can't decide what doll to play with today. This is my life too, Granger. Don't I have a say in it?" he demanded.

She was about to storm away, but then she knew he was right. It hit her like a ton of bricks, and as much as she always hated to admit when someone else was right, this time, she had no choice. He was right.

"Listen, Malfoy," she said while pushing him rather roughly, against the wall, "you're right, do you hear me? You're the biggest git in the world, but you're right. I'm acting like an indecisive schoolgirl. You said I couldn't even make my own decision about what to drink back there, and you were right. Therefore, I'm going to trust you on this one, mister. You go ahead and make all the plans, and force me into this, but then it had better be the right decision. It better all work out, because if it doesn't, I'll hex your arse from here to kingdom come!" She glared at him and actually had him by the collar of his shirt.

He almost wanted to laugh. Was she serious? He decided to play along. "All right, you have my attention, and I've been warned. If this whole marriage thing doesn't work out, you can hex me, all right. Although, I would recommend divorcing me over hexing me, because you would get a lot more money, and wouldn't get your arse thrown in jail, but whatever you decide is right for you, I'll go along with, okay?" He kissed the tip of her nose in a condensing way. He was just humouring her, she could tell.

She gave him one last dirty look, and said, "Let's get back in there; it's our engagement party, after all."

He started to follow her in, but then pulled her back for a moment. "Before we go back in there, just make me a promise, Granger," he said, as he looked down at her, suddenly very serious.

She sighed, but when she saw the concerned look on his face, she softly inquired, "What?"

"If you ever do have any serious reservations, I mean, if you really do decide you can't go through with this, just tell me before the wedding day, okay? Please, don't leave me at the altar." He looked so sad all of the sudden and she realized that there was probably a reason for that look, because whether of not she would ever intentionally hurt him, she knew as well as he did that leaving him at the altar was probably a real possibility.

Her extended silence scared him more than it should have, but finally she said, "Draco, I make a solemn vow to you, right now, that if I have a true change of heart, I'll let you know before the wedding day, and I'll never in a million years leave you at the altar. I swear this on my own life." She said this with all seriousness, so he believed her. He smiled at her, and hugged her tight. "I love you, Draco," she said softly.

"I love you, Hermione," he said in return. They walked back into the bar, arm in arm, to go join their friends at their engagement party.

_-End of Day One-_


	2. Day Two Sunday Another Week in the

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Day Two **

* * *

**Sunday morning, before dawn****: **

Hermione and Draco arrived home about 3:00 am. Their group stayed at the bar until it closed down, then they all went back to George's house to continue the party. Draco and Hermione both had more than their share of alcohol, and by the time they got back to their flat, neither was in any condition to do anything but go directly to bed.

At around 5:00 am in the morning, Draco was rudely, and forcibly, separated from his slumber by the sound of Hermione retching in the bathroom. Damn girl couldn't hold her alcohol. He tried to get up, but he had a hell of a headache, and had to lie back down. Oh well, she would be okay. He tried to close his eyes to go back to sleep, when he heard a small voice say, "Draco?"

He plopped out of bed and padded into the bathroom. There was Granger, lying on the floor, next to the toilet, looking like a wet dishrag.

He knelt beside her on the floor, and said, "A wee bit ill are we, Granger?" She merely looked up at him and nodded. If he didn't have such a headache, he probably would have laughed at her and made some witty comment about how she was such a lightweight when it came to her liquor, but instead, he merely lifted her from the floor, and carried her back to their bed. He then went to make her a hangover potion.

"Drink up, love," he said when he returned with the potion. He went back to the bathroom to get a headache potion for himself.

When he walked back to the bedroom, she was lying on her belly on the floor. Why was she on the floor? He bent down and pushed her hair out of her face. "Granger, you didn't drink that much did you?" he asked.

She looked up at him, and asked, "Why am I on the floor?"

This time he did laugh, aloud, and said, "I think you were looking for a galleon you dropped."

She said, "Will you help me find it?"

"Sure, Granger, I'll help you," he played along. He got down on his hands and knees and pretended to look for the non-existent galleon.

She then said, "Who cares if I lost a galleon? You're wealthy. I can just get another one from you." Then she proceeded to lie back down on the floor, on her stomach, and she shut her eyes. Draco threw a cover over her, left her on the floor, and then went back to bed. She was going to feel rotten in the morning.

**Sunday, 10 am****  
**  
'Why am I on the floor?' Hermione thought. She tried to get up, but fell back down. She felt awful. She didn't even have that much to drink. Malfoy would never let her live this down. He already thought she was a lightweight. He walked into the bedroom, already showered and dressed for the day, and handed her a glass. "Drink this, Hermione, it'll make you feel tons better, and then get dressed and showered, we have a lot to do today." He sat her up, and helped her drink the 'pepper-up' potion he made.

"What do we have to do today?" she pondered.

"Wedding plans, of course," he answered back, while walking out of the bedroom.

She stood up, already feeling better, and followed him to the kitchen. He had made her tea and toast, and motioned for her to sit down. She sat down, took a bite of toast, and asked, "What wedding plans could we possibly have to do on a Sunday?"

"Oh, this and that," Draco answered. "Now, hurry up and eat and then shower."

She ate her toast and drank her tea, as he sat across from her reading his paper.  
She looked around and inquired, "Malfoy, where's my cat? You didn't lock him out again, did you?"

"Your damn cat has already been fed and watered, and is walking around here somewhere, Granger," he mumbled behind his paper.

"Watered?" Hermione laughed silently at that one.

After her shower, she walked into the bedroom and got dressed. He came in and said, "Aren't you ready yet?" She gave him a perturbed look, and put on her coat, as she noticed he had on his, and then walked to the front door and stared at him. He grabbed her hand, and led them out the door and disapparated with her before she even knew what was happening.

They apparated in front of a large white house with green shutters. It was a beautiful home, with many tall pine trees all around. She looked at Draco and asked, "Whose house is this?"

"Mine," he answered. He started to the front door, said an unlocking spell, and the door opened. He smiled and put his hand on her back and led her inside. The house was every bit as pretty on the inside as the outside. The foyer had dark pine floors. There was a large staircase, directly in front of them, that went off in two different directions at the top of the stairs. On the right side of the foyer, there was a set of double doors. Draco led Hermione through these doors. There was a large sitting room, beautifully decorated, that had French doors that led to the outside. Beyond the sitting room, they walked into a large formal dining room. At the end of the dining room, was a smaller room, which looked to be a breakfast room. Past this room were a very large kitchen, pantry, and servant's quarters.

Hermione merely let Draco wander from room to room with her, still holding her hand, while neither said a word to each other. They went back to the foyer, and went through a big set of doors to the left, where there was a beautiful den, painted dark green, with wall to ceiling, built-in bookcases. She looked at Draco, still speechless, and he was still smiling. He took her hand and led them upstairs.

They went up the main staircase, and then took the stairs the led to the left. There they found a large master suite with an adjoining sitting room and bath. They went back down the left staircase and went up the stairs to the right. There they found two guestrooms and baths, and then down a hallway there was another small bedroom, and a set of stairs that led them back down to the kitchen.

They stood in the kitchen, still in silence, and finally, Draco said, "Well?"

"This is your house?" she finally asked.

"Yes, it was left to me by my maternal grandfather. Small, I know, but I've always liked it. This is where my house elves from my former flat live now. That's why the place doesn't look deserted," he explained.

"Why haven't you ever told me about this place?" she asked.

"Well, because I wanted to keep it a surprise. It's my wedding present, to you. Happy Wedding, Granger." He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Wait…what?" She seemed confused. "You can't just give me a house."

"Well, actually, I can, and I just did," he said rather condescendingly. Then he added, "This solves two of our present problems. One, it will be a bigger place for us to live in, and two; I thought we could get married here. I thought it would be nice. Actually, now that I think about it, it solves another problem as well. Now I don't have to buy you a wedding present, because by golly, I just gave you a house."

She was looking at him with her mouth open, and for maybe only the second time in her whole life, she was speechless.

"Close your mouth, Granger, you look like a fish," he joked.

"You just gave me a house," she said. She walked from the kitchen, through the dining room, to the lounge. She stood in the middle of the large room, swirled around, and said, "YOU JUST GAVE ME A HOUSE!" while she turned. He laughed when he saw her jubilation. She ran up to him and hugged him. She practically jumped in his arms. "This is beautiful…I mean, this is the best…I just don't know what to say," she told him.

"Well, obliviously you don't know what to say, you're babbling," he said as he sat on one of the sofas.

She sat down next to him and said, "Does this place have a name? I mean, don't all Wizard homes have a name?"

"It's called 'Edgewood', but we can always re-name it, if you want," he explained.  
"So, are you happy, Miss Granger?" he inquired as he kissed her forehead.

"Oh my, yes," she told him.

"There's still a lot to do," he said as he stood, "we'll have to get this place in top condition, redecorated, and get it hooked back up to the floo network." He was walking around the room, making his mental list, and ticking things off in his head. He turned back to look at her, and said, "Would you like to have lunch here?"

She smiled and said, "That would be lovely. Why don't you go tell the house elves we will be having lunch here. I want to go check out the den."

"Do you only love me for my books, Granger?" he joked.

"No, I love you because you're wonderful. I'm only marrying you for your books. Big difference," she said as she removed her coat and walked toward the den.

**Sunday, lunchtime: **

Hermione looked at all the books on the shelves and was in awe. She started to study them closer, and noticed that there certainly were many books on the dark arts. How interesting. She picked out an ancient book and started reading. In no time at all, Draco entered the room to tell her lunch was ready.

They ate mostly in silence, since Hermione brought her book to the table with her. When they finished, Draco told her that he needed to go to Malfoy Manor for a while. He asked if she wanted to stay here or go back to the flat. "Why can't I go to the Manor with you?" she asked.

"Why would you want to go there? Anyway, I just need to get some things from the vault again, and after the last time, I don't think you would appreciate staying upstairs by yourself," he said as he stood to put on his coat.

Hermione put on her coat, and asked, "Why do I have to stay upstairs? Why can't I go down to the vault as well? You aren't going to get me another ring are you?" she said as she smiled sweetly.

Draco did not respond to her smile; in fact, he was frowning. "Why can't you just go back to the flat?" he asked.

"Fine, have your little secrets. I guess I need to get used to you withholding information from me," she pouted.

"When have I withheld information from you? You know what; I'm not going to let you pick a fight with me. Come with me, go home, or stay here. I don't care." He went to walk out the door and she followed.

"If you don't care, then I want to go to the Manor," Hermione stated adamantly.

**Sunday, afternoon, Malfoy Manor**:

When they arrived at the manor, Draco started walking toward the stairs that led directly to the dungeons. Hermione was determined to follow this time. They went down many stairs, and through many cavernous hallways, with only the light from their wands to light their way.

Hermione didn't know how Draco could even find his way around. They had gone many stories underground, and had made so many turns; left, then right, then left again; that she was feeling dizzy. Every few moments he would bark out orders like, "Keep up, Granger" or "Don't lag behind."

At one point, he was so far ahead of her that she couldn't see him. She didn't care. Let him worry, and fret that she might get lost. She leaned against the wall, and tried to catch her breath. The Manor was certainly a very ominous place. She decided not to let him get too far ahead; she didn't really want to get lost; so she picked up her pace. Damn! She came to the end of a hallway. That was weird. She knew he was walking straight before her, and she hadn't made any turns, so where was he? She turned to walk back the way she came and somehow the hallway ended again. How could the hallway have two ends, with no doors or turns?

She decided to use her wand to get her bearings. She told it to point the way out of there. It merely rocked back and forth in her hand. She walked back the way she came, but instead of a solid wall, now there were two doorways. One door led to the left and one to the right. Were those doors there before?

She tried the door on the right and found it locked. She tried to unlock it with her wand, but nothing happened. She tried the door to her left, and it admitted her entrance. When she entered, for a moment, everything went black. She tried to find the door again, but couldn't. She shouted, "Lumos," and her wand lit back up. She was shocked at what she saw. Well, shocked may not be the correct word. She was distressed and afraid.

She was standing in a room, which appeared to be equiangular in shape, and on each wall, there was a mirror, with no doorway. What was worse, there appeared to be no floor or ceiling. She felt like she was walking on air. She walked up to the first mirror, and she saw herself as a child. She was looking directly in the mirror, but a five-year-old Hermione was looking back. The five-year-old Hermione waved at the adult Hermione, and then ran away. Hermione stepped up to the next mirror, and she saw a teenage version of herself. She was in her Hogwarts uniform, and she was reading a book. She also smiled and waved at Hermione. The next mirror was the most distressing. She saw a young adult Hermione, much like the real version, standing between both her parents.

As Hermione walked closer to the mirror (No floor, be damned!), she put her hand up to the reflection of her mother and her mother's reflection disappeared. Then she turned to her father's reflection, and it too disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hermione was afraid to look in the next mirror, but she felt compelled. She stepped in front of that mirror, and at first, she saw nothing. Not even her current reflection. Then she saw herself standing at the altar in a beautiful wedding dress and Draco was walking toward her. Something didn't seem right. The Draco in the mirror looked angry. He was walking toward the bridal Hermione, and without notice, he drew his wand and pointed it at Hermione and in a flash of green light, the bridal Hermione fell down in a heap at Draco's feet.

The real Hermione started to cry. She turned to the last mirror, she saw herself, covered in blood, in a wedding dress, and this Hermione was crying, too. This last reflection looked longingly at Hermione, as if pleading with her to help her. She had blood all over her, and she raised her hands to the mirror and mouthed the word, "Help," but no sound came out. Hermione stepped closer to this mirror, and put her hand up to the reflection of the other Hermione's hand, but as soon as she touched the cold glass, the reflection went away.

Hermione looked at her hand, and it was covered in blood, just like the Hermione in the last mirror. She looked down at her body, and it too was covered in blood. She looked back in the mirror, saw Draco standing behind her pointing his wand at her, and as Hermione turned to face him, he was no longer there.

She screamed and everything went pitch-black once more.

Damn her. Where was she? Was it too much to ask her to keep up? Didn't he once tell her that these dungeons held many dangerous things, and that it would be easy to become trapped down here, and maybe even get hurt? She couldn't just go back home, could she. All Draco wanted to do was to get some of the family jewelry. He had a set of wedding rings that was also his grandparents, which he wanted to have fitted for their wedding.

He started back toward the way he came and he heard her scream. Not just an, 'I'm afraid of the dark scream,' but a blood curdling, deluge that went on in echoes throughout the entire dungeon. He ran faster and faster, not knowing from where the scream came. He stopped for a moment and yelled, "GRANGER!" at the top of his lungs. He said a spell, to help locate her, but to no avail.

Hermione opened her eyes and she was no longer in the mirror room. Now she was in a small dark ancient looking tomb. There were candles lit on the walls and a small precipice was at the end of the room. She walked to the edge and looked down. Again -nothingness. She tried to walk back to the middle of the room, but now the precipice was a giant pedestal, and she was perched on top. The walls of the tomb expanded into nothingness as well, and Hermione felt her heart beating as she felt a presence next to her.

She heard a voice in her ear, which said, "What are you doing here?"

She answered aloud to the voice, "I don't know."

Then the voice said, "You don't belong here. You will never belong here. You are not worthy of the Malfoy name. You are a Mudblood."

Hermione started to cry once more. She sank to her knees and shut her eyes. She started rocking back and forth, and said, repeatedly, "Go away, go away, go away."

When she opened her eyes, she was in a forest. This had to be a nightmare, because nothing was making sense. She stood up, and she heard Draco yell, "GRANGER!" She looked back and she saw Draco running toward her, with his wand pointed at her, and a murderous look in his eyes.

She yelled, "HELP!" She started running down a path and then she fell. When she stood back up, she was back in the long dark hallway of the dungeon. She continued to run. She fell again, and closed her eyes. She was afraid to open them again, because she had no idea where she might be next. She lay on the floor, crying, with a pain in her knee, a possible broken wrist, and all she could do was cry.

Draco saw her fall. He ran to her as fast as he could. He reached down for her, and she looked up in his eyes and started screaming. She was hitting and kicking at him, and telling him to let her go. She was crying and she shouted, "Don't kill me!" Draco tried to reason with her, and told her that she was safe, but she just kept crying hysterically, and said again, "Don't kill me!" He had to use his wand to stun her so he could get her upstairs, to safety.

**Sunday Night**:

When she woke up she was in her own bed. Draco was in a chair next to the bed, apparently asleep. Did she just dream everything that happened or was it real? She said, "Draco?" and he woke up.

"Gee, Granger, you gave me quite a scare," he said as he stroked her hand.

"What happened?" she asked with a hoarse voice.

"You became lost in the dungeons. When I found you, you were screaming at me not to kill you, and I actually had to stun you to get you back upstairs. I called my personal healer, and he gave you a calming potion, and fixed your knee and wrist right up. Tell me, what happened?" Draco implored.

Hermione told him everything; all about the mirrors and the tomb room and about standing on the cliff. She told him about the voice, and the forest, and about him trying to kill her.

"I told you those dungeons were evil. A lot of dark magic went on in those dungeons, for many centuries. I'm sorry I didn't keep you safe. It sounds like you entered the 'Room of Reflections'. A particularly nasty little room that feeds on people's fears, and makes their nightmares appears to be reality. None of it was real, Hermione. I would never hurt you. You know that, don't you?" Draco kissed her hand, and then crawled up on the bed to lie beside her. He pulled her into his arms and she put her head on his chest.

"I hope that's all it was. I hope it wasn't some omen, or a sign, or anything," she said in a small voice.

"I thought you didn't believe in divination, Hermione. Please, believe me, it was no sign of things to come. It was your fears and apprehensions, that's all," he said firmly. "Well, this day didn't quite turn out like I had hoped," he said at last.

"The day wasn't all bad. You did give me house." She smiled up at him.

"That's right. I did, and you haven't given me a damn thing yet," he said back.

She sat up in the bed, and said, "Give me, give me, give me. That should be your motto, Malfoy. Give me this, and give me that." She sat on the side of the bed, and since she felt a little dizzy, she just sat there for a while.

He moved to sit beside her and then stood to help her up. "Let's go listen to the Quidditch game on the wireless. I had the house elves come over and make us some dinner. We can eat on the couch." She nodded and followed him into the living room.

After they ate, he asked her, "Do you feel better?" She nodded again. He noticed that she was being very quiet. "You know, when I was thirteen, I got locked in the 'Room of Reflections'. It was not a pretty sight at all. I saw all kinds of terrible things in the mirrors, and none of them came true," he told her.

"What did you see?" She really wanted to know.

"Well, I saw myself at school, playing Quidditch actually, and stupid Potter beat me to the snitch," he told her.

"Oh, how very traumatizing for you," she said sarcastically.

"Wait, there's more," Draco continued. " In the next mirror, I saw Pansy Parkinson, and she was laughing at me because I was trying to kiss her, and I guess I did it wrong, so she was taunting me."

"Draco, does this story really compare to my experience in the room?" she asked plaintively.

"Wait, I said, there's more." He gave her a smirk. "In the next mirror I was in potion class, and my potion came out perfect, but Snape gave me a failing mark, and started laughing at me, saying that I was worthless. Then in the last mirror, I saw my father as a Death Eater, and he was forcing me to take the Dark Mark." At this, she looked up at him. "Those were quite traumatic things to a thirteen year old, Hermione," he added.

"Draco, don't you see. They were not just your fears, all those things really happened. Harry did catch the snitch before you, in many games." At this, he frowned more, but she ignored him and kept talking. "And I recall once in 5th year when you did get a failing mark and detention from Snape for a bad potion. In addition, in 6th year, your father did make you take the Dark Mark. Don't you see Draco, what if these things I saw weren't just my fears, but things that are to come?" she asked.

"Listen, the first three reflections your saw were of your past. Therefore, they already happened. Your last reflection showed me killing you, and I think that you are much more likely to kill me, then the other way around, and lastly, to dismiss this silly theory of yours, Pansy never laughed at me once when I kissed her in school," Draco responded.

She pulled away from him, not totally convinced, but seeing some reason in what he said. She decided to change the subject. "Did anyone ever laugh at you when you kissed them while you were at school?"

"Certainly not, Granger," he gloated.

"How many girls at Hogwarts were you with, anyway? I mean, you told me once you were fourteen when you lost your virginity, so who was that with, and how many women have you been with?" she asked.

Draco had a perplexed look on his face. Did she really want to talk about this right now? 'Silly little Muggle-born', he thought. He pulled her back to him, and said, "We can have this discussion another time."

"I want to have this discussion now. Maybe it will take my mind off my terrifying afternoon," she pleaded.

He was being played, and he knew it. She was playing on his sympathy, she was. The poor, pitiful Hermione, routine. No matter, he would play along.

"My first sexual encounter was, as previously mentioned, at age fourteen and it was with a professional - how should I say this? A lady of the evening. She was hired by my father on my fourteenth birthday," Malfoy explained.

Hermione looked up in horror and said, "Get out of here!"

"Why do you want me to leave?" he asked confused.

"It's an expression, you prat. It means 'you've got to be joking'," she explained.

"I hate when you speak Muggle," he said truthfully. "Anyway, after that, Miss Parkison was undeniably my next conquest at age fifteen. After that, there were so many, I can't even remember them all," he bragged.

She rolled her eyes, and said, "You are a male whore."

"I don't think men can be whores," he said seriously.

"Why not?" she asked.

"A man with a lot of sexual experience is usually held in high esteem. After all, you wouldn't have wanted me to be a virgin during our first time. Virgins make awful lovers." He didn't even realize what he was saying.

She stood up, no longer dizzy, and put her hands on her hips. "So, because I was a virgin when we first made love, I was a terrible lover?" she seethed.

He stood up, not wanted to fight with her, but wanting to make his point, because that was the type of man he was. "You weren't a terrible lover. You were just inexperienced. I would have classified you as a prude, more than anything else."  
Honestly, he was not making things any better. He could tell that, so he added, "It's alright for a woman to be a virgin, but you wouldn't have appreciated our first time half as much if I was a virgin when we first made love." He stood to approach her, but she backed away.

"So not only was I a prude, but you didn't appreciate the first time we made love?" she quizzed.

What? She was confusing him. He did not say that, did he?

"How did we get on this subject!" he yelled. "First, I was trying to comfort you, because you had a terrible experience today, and then out of the blue you wanted a tally of how many women I slept with, and now we're fighting about you being a terrible lover!" He was walking circles around her with his hands in the air.

"SO!" she accused, "You do think I am a terrible lover!" She started to walk out of the room. He caught her in the hallway and turned her around.

"You are psychotic, do you know that?" he noted. "I seriously think you might have hit your head down in the dungeon. I never said you were a lousy lover, and I never said I didn't appreciate you the first time we made love! The only negative thing I might have said tonight was that you were a prude, and frankly, Granger, that one is true, so put that in your pipe and poke it," he yelled at her.

"You idiot, the expression is, 'put that in your pipe and smoke it'," she said, and as she started to yell back at him, she had to laugh at his misnomer. She continued to laugh, walked in the kitchen, and sat down. He sat down across from her, and saw that her 'pro and con' list was still on the table, and she had just picked up the quill and wrote, "He makes me laugh" under the pro side. Then she wrote, "He thinks I'm a prude" under the con side.

"Hey, stop adding to the 'con' side," he whined.

"Well, stop doing things that make me add to it."

"You know, Granger," Draco drawled, "I know what you could do to get rid of that prude title."

"Oh, do tell, Mr. Whore," she said with a smile.

"Well, let me show you my 'pro and con' list," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a list, which was titled, "Reasons I want to marry Granger".

"When did you make this?" she inquired.

"Last night, after you left in a huff, and after I made up my 'to do list' and the wedding timeline. Look at number two on the con side." He showed her the parchment.

She read the entire list, not just number two, but when she read number two (which by the way, was second to "her cat" and before "her books"), she huffed aloud. She said, "Well, that will just have to stay on the con list, because I already told you, I think that particular thing is gross and I don't want to do it."

"But I do it to you," he acknowledged.

"I don't ask you to do it me!" she shrilled.

"But you put it on your pro side," he countered.

"That was a joke," she said and then she smiled.

"Maybe that could be my wedding present from you," he thought aloud.

"No!" she retorted.

"But, I gave you a house!" he came back.

"I have nothing more to say on the subject, Mr. Malfoy. Maybe someone at your bachelor party will accommodate you." That being said, she went into the bedroom and slammed the door shut. She locked it as well. It looked like it would be the couch for Draco tonight.

As he walked by the bedroom door, he banged on it, and said again, "I gave you a house!" and walked on to the living room and plopped on the couch. He could not help but grin to himself. Just then, her mangy cat jumped on his chest, and he looked at the evil thing and said, "I love that crazy girl." Then he started petting the purring fur ball, and shut his eyes so he could get some sleep.

_(End of day Two)_


	3. Day Three Monday Another Week in th

**all characters belong to JKR**

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**Day Three**

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**Monday Morning 6:30 am:**

Hermione woke up with a feeling of foreboding. She had nightmares all night long, about what she saw in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. She also felt bad about the fight she had with Draco. It was an unfounded fight and she picked it with him to take her mind off what happened earlier in the day. She did not appreciate the fact that he just dismissed her feelings about what happened. He wasn't there. He didn't see the things she saw or experience the things she experienced. He didn't know how real it felt. How did he even survive to adulthood growing up in that hellhole?

She woke up and took a shower. She assumed Draco was still asleep on the couch. She didn't care if he ever woke up. Let him sleep his life away, the stupid prat. She showered, dressed, and fed the cat, then decided to get some coffee at the coffee shop near the Ministry. As she was walking out the door, she saw Draco leaving the bathroom. He looked at her and smiled. Did he not know she was still angry with him?

She turned back around, shut the door again, and walked up to him, looking somber and grave. For a moment, he was afraid. He half expected her to slap him. She had a nasty history of that sort of thing. Instead, she walked right up to him, dropped her satchel of the floor, and put both arms around his neck. She hugged him tight. He kept his arms to his side. He was afraid to hug her back.

She put her lips on his and he sucked his breath in sharply. The warmth and love emitting from her was warming him inside and made him smile with anticipation. She loved him. She stepped back, and said, "I love you, Malfoy."

He smiled again and said, "That's good to know, Granger."

Then she smiled, and said, "The appropriate response would be, I love you, too."

"I don't want you to get a big head. I want to keep you grounded and all," he told her. She turned from him to pick up her satchel and all of the sudden he grabbed her by the waist, and dipped her as if they were dancing, and he kissed her hard. The heat from his kiss spread through her like molten lava, and made her heart race. He brought her back to a standing position, and cupped her cheeks, stroking them with his thumbs. She licked her lips and he smiled at her seductively. As their gazes locked, he leaned in for another kiss. He could never tire of her. He could kiss her all day, everyday. Just as their kiss was building in crescendo, he pulled away and said, "I thought you were taking this week off work."

She pulled away from him and said, "I really don't know how your mind works. Here we were, kissing and having a grand old time, and then you ask me about work. Were you even paying attention to what we were just doing?"

"Unlike you, I can multi-task," he stated, "anyway, 'little Draco' was paying enough attention for both of us."

"I do wish you would stop referring to that part of your anatomy as 'little Draco'," she said infuriated.

"You were the one that named him." He laughed.

"No I didn't!" she argued.

"That day we apparated into the men's room, you told me not to pull 'little Draco' out with you in there," he recalled.

"I don't remember that," she said as she turned to leave, even though she did recall saying that.

"Yes well, you seem to conveniently have selective memory whenever it benefits you. Now, before you leave, tell me why you're going into work today," he casually commented.

"'m just going to go in and finish up a few things, and then tell Scott that I need to take a couple weeks off, okay?" she answered. Then she added, "Can you meet me for lunch?"

"Nope," he answered cheerfully, "I'm meeting Blaise and Theo, and we're planning my bachelor party, and then the rest of the day will be busy with invitations, and the like. By the way, owl a list to me of all the little people would like to honour by inviting them to our wedding." He then turned around and walked into the bathroom. Hermione took that as her cue to leave.

When she arrived at the coffee shop, Harry was there. He waved at her, and since he was already in line, he motioned for her to get a table, and he ordered for both of them. When he came to the table, he asked about her weekend. Where should she begin? She told him about 'Edgewood' and about what happened in the dungeons at Malfoy Manor. Harry had an infuriated expression on his face. Unable to mask his anger, he told Hermione that he had experienced too many strange things in his life not to take the things she saw seriously, and maybe she should not just dismiss the visions that she had. Hermione knew Harry would probably tell her anything to get her not to marry Malfoy, but she told him she would take what he said into consideration. They walked to the Ministry and went their respected ways.

She walked to Scott's Office (which was Draco's old office), and knocked on the door before she opened it a bit, so he could see it was she. "Come in, Hermione," Scott said. He opened the door the rest of the way for her, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "My wife and I had fun at your little engagement party Saturday night," he explained.

"That's good. Listen, Scott, because Draco and I are getting married in less than a week, I was going to ask you for this week off, and next week as well, for the honeymoon, you know," she started.

"Of course, take all the time you need," he told her.

"Well, the thing is, I've been thinking, and I feel that now may be the best time to turn in my resignation. I've not even discussed this with Draco yet, but this was never my dream, to work at the Ministry, and I just think it's time to do what I want with my life. I mean, I love working here, so please don't take this the wrong way," she hastened to add.

Scott laughed and said, "Hermione, that's fine. I was surprised you stayed here once Draco left anyway. Well, more to the point, I'm surprised he left after you came, especially when he worked so long and hard to get you in this department. You know, the only reason he even came to work at the Ministry was because of you."

He now had Hermione's undivided attention, and she sat down in a chair across from his desk. "Do explain," she said.

He went to sit down as well, and he put his hands on top of his desk and said, "You know, he swore me to secrecy, but since you're engaged now, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you." Scott got back up and came over to sit in the chair beside her. "Do you know how Draco and I met?" Scott asked her.

"No. I always assumed it was here at work," she stated obviously.

"No, we knew each other before that. I was one of his instructors at Uni. Shortly after he got his Potion's Degree, I had gotten a job at the Ministry. Well, after a year here, I was up for a promotion. In fact, the promotion was the job I have now, as Director of the department."

Hermione leaned back in her chair and asked, "Well, then how did Draco get the job over you?"

"Well, that's the secret part, and something I'm not overly proud to admit. See, I had some gambling debts, I'm afraid to say, also, my wife and I were going through a rough patch. This job would have meant more money, and more time at home. At the time, I was a field researcher, and was gone a lot. This was around the time that you started at the Ministry." Scott paused, and then continued.

"Draco came to see me. Somehow, he had heard about the promotion. He made a deal with me. He said he had already worked it all out with Percy Weasley. He said that if I would allow him to come in as the Director of the department, that he would make me Potion's Master and that as soon as he could, he would vacate the position, and that Percy guaranteed that he would again offer me the job."

"Why would he do that?" Hermione genuinely wondered.

"For you, of course," was Scott's response.

"I don't understand," Hermione said, confused.

"All I know is, Draco offered the Ministry a big donation to the charity of their choice, and he offered me what was equal to a year's salary, if we would let him execute his plan. When I asked him why in the world he would want to do all of this, and what his plan was, he said it was to make you fall in love with him, so he could marry you."

Hermione looked beyond shocked. She stood up and said, "What are you talking about? When was this?"

"I told you, it was just right after you started working here. I assumed that he had his eye on you for a long time, and he wanted to be closer to you, and look, it all turned out in the end. You're together now!" Scott said with excitement. He stood up and said to Hermione, "If you ever want your job back, just come and see me. In addition, I hope I get an invitation to the nuptials. Good luck, Hermione, and tell Draco congratulations again from me." He kissed her cheek and ushered her to the door.

She stood frozen in the same spot, outside Scott's door, for what felt like an eternity. She was trying to process what Scott had just told her. Surely, Draco didn't go to such extremes, like taking a job he didn't want, or deserve, and give people money, just to get closer to her. None of that made any sense. She slowly walked down the hall and left the building. She honestly didn't know where to go, or what to think.

**Monday, lunch with the boys:**

Hermione was still very confused. Did Draco really come to work at the Ministry with the intention of dating and then marrying Hermione? That just didn't seem like something he would do, and he couldn't have planned her accepting his marriage proposal. In addition, he never really showed any kind of interest in her during, or right after, the war; and it was a known fact that he hated her during their school years. She couldn't just let this rest. She needed to know what was going on, and she needed to know it now.

Around noon, she decided to seek out Malfoy. He said he was having lunch with his friends. She had every intention of "crashing" their party, and asking Draco if there was any truth in what Scott had told her. She assumed they would be eating at Draco's favourite restaurant, so she decided to try there first. Sure enough, when she entered, she saw Blaise Zabini sitting at a table, but he was alone. She scanned the room for a blond head, and when she saw none, she decided to go and casually say "hi" to Blaise. She might ask him a question or two as well, but she told herself she mostly just wanted to say "hello." Not to say hello would be rude.

She walked up to the handsome man, and said, "Hello, Blaise, how are you?"

He gave her a sexy smile and said, "If you're looking for your worse half, he's not here yet."

"Oh, are you meeting Draco for lunch? I had no idea," she pretended.

"There's a reason you were in Gryffindor, and not Slytherin, Granger. You are horrible at deception. Have a seat," and at that he pushed the chair next to him out from under the table with his foot. What a gentleman.

She gave him a small disapproving look, and said, "No, I'll stand."

He stood up, pulled the chair out more, put his hand on the small of her back, and steered her toward the seat. "I said, have a seat, Hermione," he said again, with a small laugh. He kept his hand on her back, even after she sat and began to rub her back with his thumb, up and down. She gave him a dirty look, and he smiled and removed his hand. "So, does Draco know that you're here, Hermione?" he asked smoothly.

"No actually, he doesn't. What time are you supposed to meet him?" she wondered aloud.

"Why, do you want to make a hasten retreat before he arrives? Are we having a secret rendezvous, Granger?" He leaned over and she swore he 'smelled' her.

She pushed him away, and said, "May I ask you a question?"

"You may ask, but, I may not answer." He smiled seductively.

"How long have you known Draco?" Hermione asked.

"Since school, why?" Now he leaned back, curious as to where this line of questioning was going.

"So, you have been fairly close since school ended, as well?" Hermione inquired.

"Merlin, Granger, ask your damn question already. It's not that I don't enjoy the pleasure of your company, as you're very easy to look at, but Draco will be here soon, and I would rather you ask your question before he gets here and I have a feeling you would rather that be the case as well," Blaise retaliated.

"Okay, no beating around the bush," Hermione said. "Did Draco ever, and I mean in anyway, express any kind of interest in me after we left school, or after the war? Did he ever mention liking me, or wanting to date me, or any such thing?"

"Well gee, Granger; we aren't that close, we don't really discuss those kinds of things with each other," Blaise lied.

"So, you're telling me that he never told you he liked me or was interested in me, ever? And he never mentioned wanting to work at the Ministry because I was there?" she continued to prod.

"What is this about, Hermione?" he inquired.

"Oh, just something my boss told me. He led me to believe that Draco had plotted, or planned, whatever you want to call it; that he had intentions to marry me before he even came to work at the Ministry, and that is in fact the whole reason he even came to work there. Silly, huh?" She tried to sound nonchalant, even though that wasn't how she felt at all.

"Maybe this is something you should discuss with Malfoy. I really don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds to me like your boss is drinking firewhiskey on the job or something," Blaise said with a laugh. Feeling somewhat guilty for being less than honest with her, and with no real intention to incite an argument with her, he added, "Don't you trust Malfoy, Hermione?"

"Oh, of course, I do. I trust him, and you're right, Scott's probably confused. Well, sorry to take up any of your time." She started to get up and leave, when he put his hand on hers.

"You might as well stay and say hello to your future husband. He's about to walk up to the table right now, and by the look on his face, he's unhappy that I'm sitting so close to you with my hand on yours," Blaise teased.

Hermione looked up, Draco was definitely coming their way, with Theodore Nott right behind, and furthermore he was frowning. Hermione tried to get up once again, but this time Blaise put his arm around her shoulders. Now Hermione frowned.

"Zabini, unhand my woman. She doesn't appear to want to be touched by you," Draco said as he approached. He walked over to Hermione, and she stood up, and hugged him hello. He took her by the elbow, just out of earshot of his friends, and asked her, "What are you doing here? I thought I told you I couldn't have lunch with you today, because I was meeting my friends."

"I know. I didn't come for lunch, or to interrupt you. I just wanted to tell you something," she relayed.

"What is it?" he asked.

She really couldn't think up a lie fast enough. She didn't really want to tell him anything yet. She did have a few things she would not mind asking him, but now was not a good time, so she thought up something very quick. "I quit my job today. Is that all right?"

"Sure, Granger, did you think I would be angry?" He smiled. "That's fine with me. Now we can be a couple of good-for-nothings together. Now, run along and let me have my little lunch. We're going to plan my bachelor party. Why don't you meet with your friends and plan your little pretend bachorette party," he smirked, before adding, "Do you even have any female friends?"

"Low blow, Malfoy, yes, I have female friends, and my party is going to be just as real and wild as your party is. I guarantee that. I'll leave you alone now." She turned to leave and he kissed her cheek.

As she walked out, he stood to make sure she was really leaving. He sat down at the table and before he could ask Blaise what they were talking about, Blaise said one sentence to Draco, "She knows, Malfoy. I know she knows." Draco looked at Blaise shocked, and then looked at the retreating figure of Hermione. If she did really know why he was really marrying her, he would lose her forever.

Hermione didn't really believe Blaise. He just seemed so deceitful to her. She still had some questions so she decided to talk to someone whom she had not seen for a very long time. Charlie Weasley.

Charlie Weasley was one of the older Weasley brothers. He was already out of school before Hermione even started, and he lived in Romania when they were young, so she didn't really see him when she used to visit the Burrow. However, they had become friends during the war. He was in the Order, and when she was old enough to join, he was actually the one to train her. He was a very insightful person and someone whom she used to confide. The main reason Hermione wanted to talk to Charlie was that she knew that Charlie had also trained Draco, when he left the Death Eaters to join the Order. She knew if Draco had ever mentioned being interested in her, Charlie would probably know.

Charlie was now a professor at Hogwarts. He taught "Care of Magical Creatures." She contacted Charlie as soon as she got home, and asked if he could meet her. He told her to meet him at the Three Broomsticks at 2 pm.

**Monday, 2pm:  
**  
Hermione arrived at the pub just as Charlie was walking in the door. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Hey, what's this I hear about you getting married to Malfoy of all people?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, Charlie, that's kind of why I'm here. Let's sit down; I need to ask you some questions." She told him everything Scott had told her, about how Draco bought his way into his position at the Ministry, and how he did it just to be near her, and how he had told Scott that he was going to marry Hermione before they had even started dating. "Did he ever show any interest in me during the years with the Order, or directly after the war? I mean, if he were close to anyone, it would have been you. So, did he ever say he fancied me back then?"

Charlie just looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Do you love him?"

"Well, yes, but that doesn't answer my question," she said.

"Hermione, maybe some questions are best left unanswered," he said gravely.

"Do you know something?" She seemed concerned.

"I might know something, but it's not my place to say. I will say one thing, I'm sure his intentions are now true, even if maybe they weren't always. That's all I wish to say about this." He ordered them some butterbeers, and then took her hands into his and said, "I know that's not the answers you seek, but anything else must come from him." He kissed her fingers and then laid her hands back on the table.

"But, can't you just tell me if he ever seemed interested in me back in the day?" she pleaded.

"Fine, I guess I can tell you that. The answer as far as I could tell, would be no, he never seemed particularly interested in you, but then again, he never really opened up to me that much," Charlie said, and then took a drink. He knew Hermione, and he knew she would not be appeased. He expected her to keep digging until she got the answers she wanted and he knew if she got those answers, she wouldn't be happy.

"Charlie, you must tell me if you know something more," Hermione begged.

"Listen, I will say one more thing, and then this is honestly the end of what I'll reveal. All pureblood wizards, of which you know I'm also one, had to adhere to special regulations and sanctions after the war, to assure that something like the rise of Voldemort and the Death Eaters could never happen again. While I can't tell you what the regulations are, because I signed a wizard's oath with the Ministry, I can tell you that Malfoy must have had to adhere to the same regulations and therefore the same possible sanctions as the rest of us. I'm sure he also had to agree to a wizard oath of confidentiality. While this probably confuses you more than helps you, this is all I can really say." When Charlie stopped with his explanation, he added one thing, "Let this go and be happy. I know he loves you, and I can tell you love him. Whatever this is, it has nothing to do with you getting married, and I know that for sure. You both deserve happiness."

They sat for a while longer, and Hermione tried to make small talk, but the cogs in her head were spinning faster than ever. What in the world, was Charlie trying to tell her? Instead of helping clear things up for her, now she was more confused than ever.

**Monday evening:**

Draco arrived back to the flat around 6:15 pm. It was snowing outside, and he shook his head to shake out all the snowflakes that had come to rest there. He had found an Officiate to oversee the wedding, he had sent out all the invitations today and his friends had planned his bachelor party. He even talked to Potter's wife about planning Hermione's bachelorette party. He felt he had accomplished quite a bit to be sure. He was somewhat concerned since Hermione had never given him her guests list, so he could only hope that he invited everyone that she would want to invite.

He walked into the dark living room and threw his coat on a chair. The snow outside created an eerie glow in the room. He yelled out, "Granger, are you home?" as he turned on the lights in the room. Before she could make her presence known, he saw her sitting in the same chair he had just thrown his coat. He laughed and took it off her head. "Sorry, Granger, that's what you get for sitting in the dark. By the way, why are you sitting in the dark?" he asked. She was still in her coat and hat, and he had a funny feeling she had probably been home for quite a while.

"Is it snowing? Your coat is wet," she stated as he lifted his coat from her body.

"A little bit. You seem pensive. Now tell me, what are you doing sitting in the dark?" He kneeled beside her chair, and took her hat off her head. Her hair went everywhere, and he laughed and started to smooth it down with his hands. He was trying to keep the mood light, but down deep, he was scared. He was anxious that maybe Blaise was right, and somehow she really did know the truth.

He pulled her to a standing position and unbuttoned her coat. He pulled it off her pliant small frame, and then took both their coats and hung them in the hall. When he stepped back in the living room, she was again sitting in the chair. "I got home a couple of hours ago. I just sat down, and I guess I haven't moved since. I just sat here until the darkness enveloped me. I had to think about some things," she tried to clarify. He walked over to her again and forced her to stand. He was alarmed, but he wouldn't let her know that. "Scott told me some interesting things today, Malfoy," she told him, without looking at him. She had yet to look at him.

He put his hand under her chin, and forced her to look in his eyes. "What interesting things did he tell you?" he asked. As he looked into her eyes, he kept thinking repeatedly…. 'I love you Hermione, I love you Hermione."

"Why are you marrying me? And don't say, because it's what you want," Hermione pleaded.

"But, that's the reason, and the fact that I love you. Are you having second thought again?" he asked out of apprehension.

"That's not what we're talking about, Draco," she said with a slight rise to her voice.

He stepped away from her, and said, "Well, tell me what the hell we're talking about then, so I can catch up!"

"Fine!" she yelled back. "Why did you start working at the Ministry? It certainly wasn't for the money. Why would they start you out as the Director of the department, when there were more qualified Wizards for the job? Why wouldn't they have started you in an entry level position?"

"You didn't start in our department in an entry level position," he argued. "What the hell did Cohn say to you today?"

"He said that you only wanted to work at the Ministry to be close to me. He said that you paid off both the Ministry and him to get the job as Director, and that you had planned to make me work for you, long before I did that wonderful job of solving that little hex problem for you. He also said that you told him you were going to marry me before we started dating. How would you know that? How did you know I would marry you, before I even dated you?" She was so angry that she was speaking fast and shaking, though she had not yet moved one muscle from the spot she was standing. Then she added, "Was this your plan from the beginning? To make me date you, then shag you, and then marry you? Was it a bet, or a dare, or something the Ministry made you do? Did it even matter whom you dated and married? Or was I just the most convenient?"

Draco stood back from her for a second, and he became angry as well, even though he knew he had no right and she had every right. "Wow, Granger, what an inflated ego you have. Yes, this was all just an evil plan, a plot to bang you, and then bag you. Yes, I have even money riding on this whole thing. It's nothing but a bet, or a dare, or maybe just a ploy to play with a Mudblood's head. Even if you really think so little of me, do you think that little of yourself?"

"But Scott said…" she began.

Draco rushed up to her, grabbed her by both her arms, and shook her soundly. "I don't give a shite what Scott said. I don't know what the hell he's talking about, but I'm sure to find out! I'll admit that I was interested in you for along time, but then that's something I had already admitted, and maybe I admitted this to Scott, but I certainly didn't play you. I couldn't play you if I wanted. I also already admitted to you that I wanted to marry you after our first date, so that must be what he is referring. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me, and if you didn't love me, you wouldn't have said yes. The end!"

Draco was still holding her by her arms, and he was still very angry. More so than she had seen him in a long while. She thought he was angry with her, but in reality, he was angry with Scott Cohn. If the man had been there at that moment, Draco would probably have killed him with his bare hands.

"I don't know what to believe. I tried to talk to Charlie Weasley today, but he confused me more, and I know Blaise was withholding information from me. I just want to make sure your intentions are what they seem, Draco. I guess I have always been curious as to why someone like you would want to be with someone like me. If you promise me that your intentions are as you say they are, then I'll believe you, and not pursue this, but listen carefully, Malfoy, if I find that you have lied to me in anyway, then we are over. I have to be able to trust you," she said. She looked defeated. Draco didn't want her defeated, but he didn't want her to ask any more questions.

It really didn't matter why Draco originally went to work at the Ministry, because the important thing was that he loved her and he truly wanted to be with her forever. Even if she decided she didn't want to marry him, he would still want to be with her. That was something that he would not have thought possible before, but he now knew was the truth.

He wrapped her in his arms, and said, "We can't fight like this everyday, Hermione. You need to stop worrying about every little thing. Just trust me. I love you, and I won't ever hurt you." As he told her these things, he really did mean every word.

Hermione was tired. She didn't want to fight anymore. She wanted to trust Draco. She wanted to believe that he loved her and wanted to marry her, and with only good intentions. If he said his love for her was true, and that he wasn't lying, she would believe him.

"I won't ask you about this again, Malfoy. You promised me that you're telling the truth, and I believe you. I'm just worried about everything. I'm sorry," she said. She looked up at him, and he kissed her lips.

They stood in the middle of the living room, wrapped in each other's arms, with the snow gently falling outside. A moment like that was when he felt his life was perfect. The times just like this. He had a small smile spread across his face. However, that smile was a sad façade. Inside, he had a deep dark cloud that was forming and was sure never to dissipate. He loved her and that was all that mattered. No good would ever come from her knowing the whole truth, and that blasted Scott didn't even know the whole truth so he could never tell her either. The only ones who knew the truth were sworn by a wizard's oath to secrecy, so Hermione would never have to know the real reason he was marrying her. She must never know. To justify that, he again told himself that it didn't matter, because he really did love her, and would have married her anyway.

He continued to hold her, and he cursed the fact that he was born a pureblood and she was born a Muggle-born. They wasted so many years. They could have found happiness so much sooner. She smiled up at him, and he smiled back.

"Do you want to get naked?" he joked. He needed to lighten the mood.

"You're incorrigible," she said while slapping his arm. Truthfully, she was tired of not believing him. She just wanted everything to be as it was. He was being funny, charming, and what was wrong with that? "Incorrigible, but adorable," she added.

"I am being serious, you know. I am desperate to make love to you." He bent down and nibbled on her jaw, while removing her cardigan. He moved his mouth down to her collarbone, and her hands went under his shirt and sweater, and stroked his back, up and down.

He pulled his jumper off and kicked off his shoes and socks. He pulled her back to him and walked them over to the couch. He fell backward, and she let out a little squeal. With her on top of him, she could feel his want for her. He reached up and pulled her shirt off. While he was still reclined, she straddled him, and removed her bra. She bent back down and kissed him hard and long. He would never get sick of her, or making love to her.

His heart was pounding so hard, he thought it might pound out of his chest. He wanted to make love to her so much. He knew if she wanted to make love to him as well, then everything was good between them again. She wrapped one arm around his neck, and she stroked him through his pants with the other. His breath became more and more ragged. She kissed him down his neck, his chest, and both nipples. She made him want to explode.

She kissed down farther, and kissed his stomach. She stood up and removed the rest of her clothes. She sat back on the couch and unbuckled his belt. She undid his fly and started to massage him with a slow rhythm that was both urgent and patient. What was she doing to him? She removed his pants and then pulled down his boxers. He felt as if he was mesmerized, and he couldn't move. She had never taken the initiative during sex before. Every nerve ending in his body was alive and screaming out for her touch.

She took his throbbing member in her hand, and started to dip her head. NO! He thought. He grabbed her by the shoulders, and said, "No, I don't want you to do that!"

She looked confused, and said, "But, you said you did."

'Help me!' he thought. Not only did he deceive the poor girl, now he made her feel guilty about the fact that she wouldn't perform oral sex on him. He sat up, and said, "I don't want you to do something you don't want to do," and then, before she could respond, and say whether it was something she wanted to do or did not want to do, he jerked her to him and kissed her with all the passion he felt. He stood up, lifted her to him, and carried her to their bedroom. He needed to feel her touch, to undo the guilt he felt about not telling her the real reason why he originally wanted to marry her.

He put her on the bed and crawled beside her. He lifted one hand, and hesitantly, almost like it was the first time he had ever touched her, he lifted one breast and put his mouth on her nipple. She moaned and arched toward his touch. She needed him hard and inside her and she needed it now. He put his mouth on the other breast, and heard her moan again. That was what he wanted. He wanted her to want him. He rolled the nipple with his tongue, and she cried out his name.

He brushed his fingers between her legs and sought out the prize that would be sure to make her cry out for more. He was dying to taste her on his tongue, but not yet. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he knew he would die before hurting her.

He ran his long finger down her cleft, and she shivered. She was wet and ready, and so soft to his touch. He dipped his finger inside, just to see what pleasure he could provoke. He teased her until her hips were bucking under him, and she started to scream. He rested his body between her legs, and it was then that he replaced his finger with his mouth, and she let out an audible gasp. "No, no, no," she was panting.

'Yes, Yes, Yes,' he thought. He continued torturing her until she started her orgasm, and then at last he climbed back up her body, raised himself on his elbows and entered her. He almost impaled her. He felt he was going to come immediately, but he held on. He didn't want it to end so soon. She held on to his shoulders, and he started to pull out of her, only to push back in. The hardness of him contrasting with the softness of her made Draco feel closer to sheer ecstasy than he had ever felt with anyone his entire life.

She was his, completely. She screamed out his name once more, and pulled hard on his shoulders. He knew the signs, and his release came fast and furious. He dropped his entire weight on her body. He didn't mean to, but he honestly couldn't move at that moment, even if he wanted to. Her spasms subsided and so did his. He rolled off her and pulled her tightly to him. "You're mine, you're all mine. You belong to me. I love you so much," he said breathlessly.

She couldn't talk. She looked up to his face, and cupped his cheek with her hand. She leaned up and gave him a lingering kiss on the mouth. She kissed him passionately, and her kiss almost seemed like it was trying to tell him something. He almost felt like that one kiss was telling him goodbye. He was so afraid of losing her. He was just imagining things. She was not going anywhere. He held her, and with his body next to hers he finally said, "Please, say something."

"I love you," she said. That was all he needed to know.

_(End of day 3)_


	4. Day Four Tuesday Another Week in the

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Day Four**

* * *

**Tuesday Morning:  
**  
It was now Draco's turn to wake up with a feeling of foreboding. He was in bed, trying desperately to tell himself that everything was going to work out fine. She was never going to find out why he originally wanted to marry her. No one would tell her and Draco knew he would never tell her, therefore she would never know the truth. They would get married on Saturday and live happily ever after. Well, maybe not happily, and perhaps not even ever after, but they were definitely getting married on Saturday. She promised. Draco looked over at Hermione's sleeping form and he wondered if she was going to act weird and distant today. He hoped not. He smiled when he saw that she had put on a nightgown. Each time they had sex, she would always sneak out of bed and put on a nightgown afterwards. She was modest. She was also a prude. He smiled again. She had her head on his right arm. He tried to pull it out from under her, but this caused her to stir, so he stayed still.

After a moment, he had to go to the bathroom, so he tried to move his arm again. His arm felt like it was made of lead, and as he tried to remove it out from under her head, he did certainly wake her. She opened her eyes, looked at him for a moment, and then turned her back toward him, and went back to sleep. She didn't even say good morning. She just stared at him and then rolled over. Draco got up and walked to the bathroom.

Hermione was not asleep. She just didn't want to face the day. Waking up would be acknowledging the fact that it was a day closer to Saturday, and Saturday was the day she was dreading. It was the day she was to get married. She heard Draco in the bathroom and she wondered why he didn't even say good morning when he left the bed. Was he angry with her? Why was he angry? She sat up in bed and looked at the bedroom door. Then she sank back into bed, put his pillow over her face, and let out a silent scream. Maybe if she kept the pillow over her head, she would suffocate, and then surely, if she were dead, she wouldn't have to go through with the wedding. The pillow smelled like Draco. She loved his smell. She took the pillow off her head and hugged it to her body. She loved Draco. She just really didn't want to get married. She wasn't sure why that thought made her so anxious, but the anticipation of waiting for Saturday to come was killing her. Would marriage really make her feel any different than she did at that moment?

She heard the shower start. She decided it would be a good time to get up. She would have to face him eventually. If Hermione was going to marry the man, then surely she could face him at the breakfast table. As she walked to the kitchen, she realized that if she had to articulate the main reason that she was afraid to get married, she would have to say it was for one reason and one reason only, because it all seemed too good to be true. Something bad was about to happen. She knew it without a doubt.

As if moving in slow motion, she fed her cat and put on the kettle. She got out two teacups and started to nibble on a biscuit. She heard the shower stop. For reasons unknown to her, she threw her biscuit down and ran back to bed. She pulled the covers up over her head. Draco walked out of the bathroom to the bedroom and saw Hermione still in bed asleep. He got his clothes, as quietly as he could, and went back to the bathroom. He heard the whistle on the kettle. He dropped his clothes and went to the kitchen. He saw a half-eaten biscuit on the floor and the kettle steaming on the stove. She had been up. Did she forget the kettle and just go back to sleep? Unlikely, Draco thought. He took the kettle off the stove and picked up the half eaten biscuit. He saw she had put out two cups. He decided to go ahead and make two cups of tea. He left them on the table and went to get dressed.

Hermione heard the whistle on the kettle. Damn! What an idiot. She threw back the covers and trotted off to the kitchen. Just as she reached the hall, she saw Draco leaving the bathroom, heading toward the kitchen. She snuck back in the bedroom, put her head around the door and watched him pick up her half eaten biscuit. She pulled herself back into the bedroom and mentally slapped herself for being so stupid. She saw him go back to the bathroom, so she made her escape, and headed toward the kitchen. He had poured two cups of tea. She took one and headed toward the bathroom. She knocked on the door, to which Draco opened, and handed the cup to him. He merely took the cup and shut the door again.

She walked back to the kitchen, and to say she was not curious as to why he was acting so strange would be to say that she was not intelligent with curly hair. What reasons would he have to be angry? Maybe he had a guilty conscience. That was probably what was going on. She picked up the second cup of tea, started to take a drink, but instead walked to the closed bathroom door, cup in hand, and threw it hard at the offending door, pretending that she was throwing it at his head! It smashed, the cup broke, and tea went everywhere. Some of it even splashed back on Hermione and burned her arm. He opened the door, shocked of course, and said, "What the hell?"

"Is that really the first thing you want to say to me this morning? No 'good morning, Hermione', or 'did you sleep well', or how about, 'thanks for the tea'? Really, Draco, is 'what the hell' the one thing you picked out of all the words in your broad vocabulary to say to me this morning?" she yelled, while holding her burnt arm.

He looked at her arm, and then said, "I thought it was an appropriate response, yes," and then he closed the door.

She went and got her wand to clean up the mess, but then thought, let him do it. Maybe he'll even cut himself. She healed the burn on her arm and then went back to the bedroom and slammed the door shut, hard.

He slowly opened the bathroom door, took his wand and cleaned up the mess she made, and then put his ear on the bedroom door to listen. He wanted to know if she was angry. If she were, she would probably be in there ranting and raving. He didn't hear anything. He shut his eyes; maybe that would make him hear better; and just as he did, she opened the door. She stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and he stood upright and picked an imaginary piece of lint off his sleeve. She pushed him out of the way, while making a guttural sound, and raced off to the bathroom and slammed that door.

Draco didn't know what to do next. Why was she angry? What had he done? Why were they fighting? He waited for her to finish in the bathroom so he could ask her.

Hermione took a shower, the whole while thinking, 'why was he angry? What had she done?' She stepped out of the bathroom in only a towel, and he was just standing there in the hall, looking at her with a stupid smirk on his face. She pushed him again and went to the bedroom. Her push caught him off guard and he stumbled and hit the wall. He pushed himself off the wall, and as she tried to slam the bedroom door, he caught it instead. He stood there, holding the door, again with that damn smirk. She walked up to him, tried to push him once more, but this time he was prepared, and did not budge. Then Draco Malfoy did something that Hermione Granger would never have thought he would have done in a million years. He pushed her back. Not so hard that it was close to abuse, but hard enough to knock her on her bum, and she was in nothing but a towel!

"What is your problem, you stupid wanker?" she proclaimed from the floor.

"I don't have a problem. No problem at all," he said as he stood looking down at her with arms crossed.

She stood up and said, "Don't push me!"

"Then don't push me," he said. He was smiling. Did he think the situation was funny?

"What is your problem this morning?" she asked again; with a loud shrill to her voice.

"I wasn't aware I was having a problem, but you, on the other hand; you have a major malfunction today and it had better stop," he replied, while pointing his finger at her.

"Don't tell me what to do," she said.

Was he telling her what to do? Only if she took his statement literally. "Listen, Hermione, why are you angry?" He was getting frustrated. Usually it was fun to get her dander up, but today, he wasn't in the mood.

"I had no problem until you physically attacked me and knocked me down. I woke up this morning, and you didn't even say good morning. Then I bring you a cup of tea and you don't even say thank-you. What's got your wand in a twist this morning, Malfoy, guilty conscience or something?" she implied.

"What would I have to be guilty about, Miss Granger? Oh, and by the way, I hardly think knocking you on your rump constitutes battery, but maybe you Muggle-borns see things different." He took his jacket and went out the front door.

Hermione yelled some expletives at him. She probably thought he was long gone and would never hear her. In actuality, he was still standing outside their flat door listening. 'What did she say about my mother?' Draco pondered. He flung the door back open and rushed her. She didn't have time to think. He picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and deposited her outside the flat door. Then he slammed it shut and locked it. Maybe being outside in the snow in only a towel would make her cool down.

"MALFOY! You open this door this instant, you bloody prat!" she yelled. As she stood outside in only a towel, with wet hair, and snow under her bare feet, she saw Blaise Zabini, of all the godforsaken people she could have seen, walking up the stairs to their front door.

"Hello, Granger? Did you get locked out?" Blaise laughed, as he looked her up and down.

"Your stupid best friend put me out here, IN NOTHING BUT A TOWEL!" she yelled toward the door. He took off his coat and put it around her shoulders.

Blaise knocked on the door, and heard Malfoy inside say, "Are you ready to act like an adult and apologize?"

Blaise said, "Sure, I'm sorry, for whatever it is you think I did; now open the bloody door before we have frozen Mudblood out here."

Draco flung the door open and yelled, "I wasn't talking to you, and don't call her that!" Then he turned to Hermione, who was looking a little blue around the corners, from the cold, and he grabbed her shoulders and brought her inside. She threw off Blaise's coat, and went into the bedroom and slammed the door, again.

"Lover's spat?" Zabini asked with a grin.

"But of course," Draco sighed.

"When do you two not fight?" Blaise inquired.

"I'm not sure," Draco said in all honestly. Then he asked his friend what he was doing there.

"I'm here to tell you I rented the room for the bachelor party tomorrow night. Now, do you want me to invite some of Hermione's friends?" Blaise asked.

Draco made a disgusted face, but then said, "I suppose so."

With that being all Blaise needed to know, he was off. He picked his coat up from the floor and left.

Draco sat down on the sofa to read his morning paper. He had a funny feeling it was going to be a long day.

**Tuesday, noon:**

Hermione spent most of the morning in her room reading. She didn't even know Draco was still in the flat until she heard him outside in the hall. He knocked on the door of the bedroom and asked, "Granger, do you want to go out for a bite? I made us reservations for lunch, and then I thought we could get my dress robes and your wedding dress this afternoon."

Was he serious? Was their fight over, just like that? Why were they fighting anyway? If he was no longer angry, then by golly, neither was she. She opened the door and said, "Let me get my coat."

They arrived at the restaurant just a few minutes later. They went to this restaurant often. She really liked it here. There was an awkward silence between them, so they were both thankful when the waiter came to get their order. After the waiter left, and with Hermione still abnormally quiet, Malfoy decided on which tactic he should use to bring her out of her shell. Finally, he thought of something.

"Hey, Granger, would you rather have quail or pheasant for our reception?" She merely shrugged her shoulders. Then he asked, "Would you rather have a sit down dinner or a buffet?" Again, she shrugged. Her lack of attention was getting out of hand. Finally, he asked, "Would you rather be bathed in pig's blood or lamb's?"

That one she heard. "What?" she asked.

"In a Wizard wedding, the bride and groom have to bath in either pig's blood or lamb's blood. I was just wondering which you would rather." At that moment, the waiter brought their salads.

"I have been to a Wizard wedding before, Malfoy, so stop being a prat," she responded.

"Have you ever been to a pureblood's wedding?" he asked.

"Yes, Bill Weasley's," she responded.

"Oh, well, I'm sure they were too poor to afford the blood," he said as he took a bite of his salad.

"You are full of shite," Hermione said, although he had her slightly worried.

"You should have seen your face!" He started to laugh. "I think for a second you really believed I was telling the truth."

"Well, you purebloods are stranger than most. Maybe all those years of inter-family marriage have caused some decrease in brain cells," she said. He poured himself a glass or wine and then poured some for her. "You know, Malfoy, when I was a girl my friends and I used to play a game called 'would you rather'. You give someone two choices, and they would pick which they would rather do, for example, you might say something like, would you rather kiss a Hippogriff or a Blast-Ended Skwert," she explained.

"Why would you want to kiss either?" he asked.

"Well, that's the fun of the game. You might not want to do either, but you pick the one that would be the better of the two," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her. He was not just smiling because she was; he was smiling because for the first time all day, he felt like he had HIS Hermione back. "Okay, Granger, let's play a game," he said.

"Oh yes, Malfoy, because we are ten years old," she said. He said that exact thing to her when they had their first date, and she wanted to play a game.

"I knew you had selective memory," he said. As the waiter brought them their lunch, Draco asked for another bottle of wine.

"Are you trying to get me drunk, because you know it's pretty early in the day to be drinking so much, don't you?" she chastised him.

Totally ignoring her statement, he said, "Okay, Granger, would you rather lose your magical ability or go blind?"

"Wow, both are rather depressing, but I guess I would rather lose my magical ability. I couldn't stand to be blind. I could never read again," she laughed.

"News flash," Draco retorted, "Granger picks reading over seeing."

"My turn!" She jumped in her seat, excited. "Would you rather be bald, but beautiful, or have all your glorious blonde hair, but be horribly ugly?"

"My hair is my crowning glory, Granger, but definitely the bald and beautiful. I could always wear a wig," he said. "Waiter? Bring us more wine!" he yelled.

"Seriously, Malfoy, don't drink so much. Anyway, are you trying to get me drunk so you can have your way with me, because I can guarantee, that is definitely the only way that will happen today," Hermione stated.

Draco then said to the waiter, "Bring us two bottles," and smiled at Hermione.  
Then he said, "My turn. If you were on a deserted island, would you rather have your copy of 'Hogwarts a History' or me to keep you company?"

"You would be a close second, Malfoy," she laughed again.

He put both hands to her neck and pretended to choke her. "I have a good one for you, Malfoy. Would you rather French kiss Harry or Ron?" She giggled so hard when she asked that one that she almost couldn't contain herself.

"No, you can't ask sex questions," he decided.

"You made no previous declarations of the rules, and anyway, kissing isn't sex," she pointed out.

"Well, I am not answering that one," he declared.

"You have to," she plaintively told him, "and after you answer this one, we will agree to no sex questions, all right?" She only said that to appease him.

"If I answer this damn question, and I ever hear that you repeated my answer to absolutely anyone, Granger, I will kill your cat, do you got that? And I am certainly not going to explain my reasons for my answer!" He seemed serious. She shook her head yes, and then grinned. "I guess if I had to choose, it would be Potter." He almost gagged.

She laughed aloud and said, "I always thought you two would make a cute couple."

"I hate you, Granger," he responded, with no trace of a smile.

"No you don't, and that's your problem, not mine. Now, it's your turn," she said as she took another drink of wine. She was feeling a bit tipsy.

"You will pay, Miss Granger," he responded. "Would you rather have sex with Hagrid or perform number two from my 'con' list on me?"

"First, I thought we said no more sex questions," she told him, "and second, if I recall, I was going to do that special little something to you last night and you stopped me."

"Answer the question!" he said rather loudly, while banging on the table. People at surrounding tables turned to look at them. He took another drink and thought that he was getting pissed as well.

Hermione thought for a moment, and then said, "I think one would be physically impossible, and the other would cause severe psychological damage, so I don't know how to answer. Ask another question."

Malfoy looked at her as if she had two heads, and then asked, "Which one would be impossible, and which one would cause the psychological damage?"

"You think on that one, Malfoy, and get back to me. Now, ask another question," Hermione mused.

"Okay, in school, would you have rather have had buck teeth or bushy hair? Oh, that's right, you had both," he laughed. At least HE thought he was funny. He took another drink. She took out her wand and vanished both bottles of wine, and his glass, directly from his hand. He gave her a dirty look, then said, "Fine, here's my real question, would you have rather been in Slytherin or Hufflepuff?"

"Since I'm a Mudblood, I could never have been in Slytherin," she began.

"Pretend blood doesn't matter, and don't call yourself that," he interjected.

"Well, if blood didn't matter, then I guess I would say Slytherin, but there's nothing wrong with being in Hufflepuff," she pointed out.

"Sure, nothing at all," he smirked.

"Same question to you, except your choices are Hufflepuff and Gryffindor," she told him.

"Well, I heard a wise woman once said that there's nothing wrong with being in Hufflepuff, but still, I guess I would pick Gryffindor," he explained.

"Oh, so you could be closer to Harry?" she said and then she made kissing noises.

He made a rude gesture to her and then asked, "And why would you want to be in Slytherin, maybe so you could have snuggled up to Snape on those cold winter nights?"

"No, because my favourite colour is green, you dolt," she said. Then for good measure, she made a kissing noise once more.

"That was a stupid question anyway," he paused.

"You asked me first," she begged to differ.

"Yes, but when I asked, it was a good question," he countered.

"Whose turn is it?" she asked as the waiter came for their plates.

Draco ordered dessert for them, and then said, "My turn. Would you rather spend the night in the forbidden forest all by yourself, or one hour in the Manor's dungeons?"

She winced, and then answered, "I think I would take the night in the forest. What a depressing question. Way to bring down a room, Malfoy. My turn, would you rather be poor and in love, or rich and married." She took a bite of her cobbler, and waited for his answer.

He was completely silent for what felt like an eternity. Did she know? Is that why she was asking that question? Was she trying to get him to reveal something? Before he could answer her, Potter and Weasley started walking toward them.

He was never so happy to see the Boy Wonder and the Weasel in all his life.

"Hey, Hermione, Malfoy, how are you?" Harry asked as he bent down and kissed Hermione's cheek.

"Do you have a kiss for Malfoy?" Hermione joked.

Draco gave her a death glare.

"I hardly think Malfoy would want me to kiss him," Harry said confused.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that," she said wickedly.

"Your cat is dead, Granger," was all Draco said in response.

"Crookshank's died?" Ron asked, "Gee, about time, he was like 100 years old."

"No, Ron, my cat didn't really die, and you don't have to act so happy about his possible death you know," Hermione said crossly. Ron shrugged his shoulders and bent to kiss Hermione as well.

"We got the invitations to the bachelor party and the wedding," Harry said, "of course, we will be coming to both, and Hermione, Ginny thought you might prefer for her to throw you a shower, instead of a bachelorette party, so she told me to tell you that your shower is tomorrow night at 6:00 pm."

"Great, Harry," Hermione said. She waved goodbye to the boys, and then said, "Rather strange that Ginny would just take it upon herself to throw my party, although I'm glad she did, since I forgot to ask her."

"I asked her, but I swear, I didn't tell her to change it to a shower. If you still want your naked men and unprotected sex, then I will tell her to change it back to a bachelorette party," Draco said with a smile.

"No, that's fine, I am a prude. We both know it." Hermione laughed.

Since she totally forgot they were playing a game before, and he didn't really want to answer that last question anyway, he decided to change the subject. "What do you want to do with the rest of the day? I have to get my dress robes, but I thought you might want to go dress shopping, for your wedding dress," he said somberly.

"I don't need to buy a dress," she said flatly.

'Oh no', he thought. Did the other shoe just drop and he not hear it? "Why don't you need a dress? Are you going naked?" He tried to act as if he was amused, but inside he was afraid of what she might say.

"No, it's just I thought I would wear my mother's wedding dress. It's in the attic. It needs to be cleaned and altered, but I'm sure I can do that myself, with magic. That's all I meant," she said. She saw that she needed to reassure him.

**Tuesday afternoon:**

After their lunch, Draco bid Hermione goodbye and went to get his dress robes. She went home and pulled down the stairs that would lead her to the attic. She walked up the stairs slowly and made her way around the endless piles of books. At the end of the attic, she found all the boxes that contained the special mementos that she had kept, to remind her of her parents. She opened the first box. It contained her father's belongings. That was the box from which she retrieved the watch that she gave Draco four months ago. She sat down on the cold hard floor and rummaged through the box. There was some cufflinks, a couple of embroidered handkerchiefs, and other such things. There was a picture, in a simple wooden frame, of her father and her. A Muggle picture. It did not move, but it moved Hermione. She looked at it and all types of emotions entered her heart and mind.

The picture, taken on her eighth birthday at her grandparent's house, showed Hermione sitting on her father's lap and they were both smiling up at the camera. Her mother took the picture. Hermione put the picture aside. She also took one of her dad's handkerchiefs, a light blue one, and decided it could be her "something blue" for when she walked down the aisle. She put that box aside and pulled another box to her.

In the next box were things from her childhood. Her first doll, her baby shoes, even her baby teeth. She saw a silver rattle, her initials engraved on the smooth surface. She took it out and shook it. She placed it back in the box and took out her first book. Her mother said she used to read it to Hermione when she was still in the womb. "Thanks, for my love of books, Mum," she said to herself. She pushed that box aside as well. The next box was the one for which she was searching.

She opened the box, and in a dress bag, was her mother's wedding gown. She stood and unzipped the bag. She slowly removed the dress. It was so beautiful. When she was little, her mother would let her try it on and would say, "Some day, Hermione, you will wear this at your wedding." Hermione smiled when she thought of her charmed childhood. She was loved, pampered, but not spoiled. She wondered what Draco's childhood was like. He was loved, pampered, and undoubtedly spoiled. She smiled again.

She put the dress up against her frame and twirled around. She gently put the dress on the top of the first box and looked in the last box to see what else was in there. In a small, blue velvet box was a pair of diamond stud earrings that her mother wore on her wedding day. Hermione put the earrings to the side and reached down in the box once more. What was that on the bottom? It was her parent's wedding album.

She sat down and started slowly turning the pages. The first picture showed her mother getting ready for the ceremony, with Hermione's grandmother buttoning her dress. Hermione was suddenly struck with a singe of jealousy at her own mother. She had her mother there on her special day, and Hermione had no one. The next picture showed her mother standing between Hermione's grandparents. Her mother looked so beautiful. She turned another page, and saw her mother and father, embraced in a kiss. She closed the book, unable to continue looking at the pictures within, and started to cry. She put the album back in the box and fell back on the cold floor again, and cried, and cried, and cried. She sat back up, took the album out again, and continued to peruse the pages, while the tears freely flowed.

**Tuesday, early evening:**

When Draco got home it was after 5 pm. He saw that the attic steps were down. Surely, Hermione was not still up there. He walked up the steps and he saw boxes strewn all around, and items that he knew usually were safely contained in these boxes, also thrown around. He saw what must be her mother's wedding dress, in a heap on the floor. He picked it up and dusted it off.

Next, he saw a wedding album, opened to a page that showed Hermione's mum and dad, leaning out of a car, and waving at the camera. They must have been heading toward their honeymoon. He shut the album, and put it in one of the boxes. Where was Hermione?

He walked downstairs, with the wedding dress in his hand, and entered the kitchen. Her cat was in his bed by the stove, and Draco said, "Where's Hermione?" When the damn cat didn't answer, he looked around the rest of the apartment. Finally, on his pillow, he saw an envelope. On the outside of the envelope was her neat script, with the words "to my future husband." Well, it couldn't be a goodbye letter, he thought, or she wouldn't have addressed it as such. He put her mother's wedding dress on the chair in the corner of the bedroom, and then he walked back to the bed.

He opened the letter, and started to read.

* * *

**_Draco,_**

**_Don't worry. I haven't left you for good or anything. I promised you I wouldn't leave you at the altar, and now I promise that I won't leave you before, either. I just need to be alone for a little while. Just for a day. Looking at my parent's wedding album made me feel so sad and blue._**

It also made me realize how lucky I am to have you. I just wish that they were here to see me get married. Do you realize that neither of us will have any family at our own wedding. We are each other's family from now on.

I will return tomorrow evening, before your bachelor party and my wedding shower. I do love you. Just give me this time I need. If you really need to get a hold of me, I told Harry where I would be. Remember, I love you.

Your future wife, 

**_Hermione_**

* * *

Draco read the letter once more, then put it back in the envelope, and for some reason put it back on his pillow. He walked back to the attic, picked up her parent's wedding album, brought it downstairs, and put in on the chair with the wedding dress.

**Tuesday Night:  
**  
The train was finally coming to a stop. Hermione's destination was at hand. She was tired and cold, but glad that she was finally there. She hoped that Draco was not worried about her. Leaving home was just something she needed to do. She felt the train lurch forward, and then come to a complete stop. Hermione stood up, exited her compartment, and grabbed her bag. She stepped off the train and looked out at the dark night. She could smell the sea air. It was cold, but inviting. No one was around. Only a few other people exited the train. She went into the station, and asked the stationmaster if he knew of a cab or a driver whom she could hire to take her to the seashore. He asked her where she was going this time of night and she said, "Home." He smiled and told her he would call her a cab.

She walked back outside and took a deep breath. She could easily apparate to her destination, but she wanted to take the train and the cab. That was how they always traveled there when she was a child. She wanted to drive down the winding, dark, dirt road that would lead her to the little stone cottage that was once her summer home.

_(End of Day 4)  
_


	5. Day Five Wednesday Another Week in t

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Day Five**

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**Wednesday, ****12:45 am****:**

The snow turned to freezing rain and the moon hid behind the clouds to veil the remnants of the moonlight. Hermione decided she should go find the cabin. She had not been there for many years, but surely, she had not forgotten the way. The cab was forced to abandon her almost a quarter of a mile back. The road did not go as far as the cabin. She could apparate, but she decided to walk. She finally reached the cabin and went right to bed.

**Wednesday morning, ****7:15 am****: **

Draco woke and for a moment, he forgot that Hermione was not there. He got out of bed to look for her, and as he walked out of the bedroom, he found himself suddenly on a shore. He saw Hermione sitting alone in the middle of the ocean on a very small boat. The fog was thick and dense and she was all alone. How did she get out there? What was the meaning of this? The waves on the sea began to rock the small craft back and forth. She was desperately trying to hold on. The water was splashing up and filling the small boat with water. She was beginning to sink. She yelled for help. The boat was now only a short distance from the rocky shoreline. She saw Malfoy standing on the shore. She was slowly sinking and freezing cold. She yelled, "Help me, Draco!", but he merely stood on the shore and shook his head no. He said to her, "You must help yourself." The fog was now so thick that he could no longer see her.

He looked again for the dinghy, but it was gone and Hermione was now standing in the shallow water and she was no longer alone. There were bodies everywhere, under the water, just beyond her grasp. Draco saw Hermione's mother, her father, and every friend they had lost during the war. She screamed with terror, and tried to run out of the water, but something, or someone, had grabbed her leg. She tried desperately to remove her leg from the death grip of the unknown, so she kicked at the hand. Draco wanted to go save her, but he could not, as he was now the one sitting in the dinghy. Hermione was crying. Draco was laughing. Why was he laughing?

Hermione was being pulled under. She was no longer in shallow water. She was back in the deep sea, treading to try to stay above the water. Her arms looked like they were getting tired and her legs seemed to be weighed down. She was going to drown. She looked frantically for Malfoy and yelled for him one the last time. He was floating above her and he reached out his arms for her. He told her to stop fighting and to reach out her arms and he would pull her up and she would be safe once again, but still she was afraid. Mafloy promised to not laugh at her, or call her names, as he did when they were children, but she would not grab his hand. She let him float so far above her that it was too late. She was drowning, and Malfoy wanted to save her and she would not let him. She wound rather drown than trust him, and that was what happened…Hermione Granger drowned.

Draco woke with a scream. A real scream. He couldn't catch his breath. It was a nightmare! It wasn't real. He dreamt she was drowning, and he tried to save her, but she wouldn't let him. He got out of bed, sweating profusely. He needed to go talk to Potter. He needed to make sure Hermione was safe.

He dressed and went directly to Potter's house. He didn't care how early it was. He needed to be sure that she was not dead. He didn't want to impede on her solitude, but for his own peace of mind, he needed to see her. He told Potter about his dream, and to his surprise, Potter told him he would take him to her.

That morning Hermione woke up and stretched her arms high above her head. When she got to the cabin, it was very late. She used magic to clean the place up and started a fire in the stove. It was freezing when she went to bed last night, and if it was possible, it felt even colder now.

The cabin belonged to her parents. They used to come here every summer until Hermione was 15. After that year, they only visited one other summer. The summer she after she finished Hogwarts. Before that, the war consumed all of their lives and after that, her parents died and she had never made it back. The cabin sat on a rocky cliff and overlooked the sea. From the front porch, there was a wonderful view of the rocky coastline below. It was just a small trek down the slippery slope to the ocean. Hermione got up, got dressed, and bundled up to take a nice long morning walk.

**Wednesday, late morning:****  
**  
She must have been gone for hours. She was freezing. She could no longer feel her nose. There was a low, menacing growl. Hermione didn't know what type of entity initiated the noise, but she was sure it was her own stomach. She had brought very little food with her so she had not eaten anything yet that morning. She was standing alone on the coastline, where the rocks met the shore, and took a deep breath. Inhaling the salty sea air invigorated her. The snow was silently falling all around her. She heard the wind a mere second before she felt it rush past her. She was cold and alone, and for some reason more at peace than she had felt for a very long time. She decided to go back to the cabin.

As she climbed up the path to reach the cabin, she slipped on the icy rocks, and started to fall. A strong hand came out and reached for her. She took the hand without question. It was Harry. She let him pull her up and steady her on the path. She continued walking up the path with him right behind.

What was he doing here? What could he possibly want? He was the only person she told of her destination and surely, he would not betray her confidence. As they walked in silence, up the path to the cabin, she shivered. He stopped her, turned her around, and took off his jacket and put it over her arms. She tried to shake her head no, after all, she had a jacket, but he ignored her and walked ahead of her to the house.

Harry was blocking her view to the cabin so she didn't see that anyone else was there until she reached the front porch. That was when she saw him. Malfoy. What was Draco doing here and with Harry of all people? Harry had betrayed her confidence. She frowned and finally spoke. "What are you two doing here? I thought I made it plain, Harry James Potter, that I didn't want to be disturbed unless it was an emergency."

Harry looked at Malfoy and Malfoy looked back at Harry. Hermione thought, 'What's going on here?' Instead of talking to either man, she walked into the cabin and didn't invite them in. She didn't want them in her cabin; she only wanted to know why Harry and Malfoy were both there?

She sat down on the bed, and just then, Harry walked into the cabin. He walked over to her and said, "Draco doesn't want to come in. He doesn't want to bother you. He had a terrible nightmare that you were at the sea and that you were drowning. Since I knew you were in fact at the sea, I thought we should check to make sure you were okay. Now that we know you are, we'll leave."

Draco had a nightmare that she was drowning. Surely, he knew it was just a dream. She told Harry to come in and shut the door behind him.

Harry put on the kettle. He told her he had brought her some food. As she and Harry sat at the small wooden table, eating their bounty, he told her about Malfoy's dream. She asked him if he thought it meant anything, and he asked her what she thought it meant.

She conceded that the first part of the dream, where she was alone in the boat, was how her life felt before she started dating Malfoy. That she was alone in a drift of unhappiness. She said the next part of the dream could be that she was living in her past, and her past was preventing her from living her future. The last part, where Malfoy tried to save her, could have meant that he was in her life to give it back to her, and if she refused him, she would be lost forever.

Harry looked at her, with a mingled look of surprise and pride, and then said, "Or, it could have just been a dream. Sometimes they don't mean anything, but I like your explanation better."

She smiled and got up and hugged her friend.

She sat back down and sighed. Harry said, "Tell me Hermione, what's going on in that overworked brain of yours?"

"I honestly don't know," she responded.

"Do you love him, Hermione?" Harry demanded.

"Very much so," she said with a nod.

"Do you want to marry him?" he then asked.

"I don't know," she again answered, unable to articulate further.

"If you aren't sure, then you shouldn't get married, and I'm not saying that just because I don't like him. I'm saying that because I love you," Harry said.

"It's just that we fight all the time," Hermione said.

Harry laughed and said, "That you do, but you know, I think it's just that you are both so passionate about every little thing, that it's hard for either of you to give in and admit that someone else is right once in a while." She frowned at him and he laughed and continued, "Ginny and I don't fight that much, but that's because I'm happy to give in to her all the time. You and Malfoy would never give in to each other."

"That's because you are pussy whipped, Harry," Hermione said crassly.

Harry laughed again and said, "I've heard that from several people, and I don't care. I love my wife and want her to be happy."

"Do you think Malfoy and I don't love each other or want the other to be happy?" she concluded from what he just said.

"That's not what I meant, but if that's what you take from it, then so be it," Harry confirmed.

"What are you two doing here? You could have come and checked on me yourself," she finally asked.

"He came to me demanding that I tell him where you went. He said he wasn't going to come find you but that he wanted to make sure you were safe. I told him you were, but Malfoy, being the arse-hole that he is, demanded that I go and make sure, so I told him I would," he explained.

"That tells me why you are here, but then what is he doing here?" she asked perplexed.

"He said he would just come along for the ride, and he wouldn't even talk to you, and so far, he's as good as his word," Harry told her. "Listen, Hermione, he told me what Cohn said to you and how it has you all concerned. I don't believe any of it. I also know that Charlie Weasley filled your head with a bunch of nonsense, but I don't think any of that has anything to do with Malfoy marrying you."

"But, Harry, you aren't a pureblood. Maybe you don't even know about these sanctions. I've been thinking, what if the Ministry, to ensure that the purebloods wouldn't try to cause another war, and to prevent another Voldemort; what if they made all purebloods marry people of less than pureblood birth? What if they fined them or sanctioned them in other ways if they didn't? That's what I've concluded," she said.

Harry looked at Hermione incredulously. She continued, "Remember when Ron got married and he told us, 'Thank God she's not a pureblood, or I wouldn't even be able to afford to marry her'. Do you think he was referring to these sanctions?"

Harry finally spoke. "Even if that's all true, which I don't think it is, then Malfoy still could marry anyone, it wouldn't have to be you. Remember that night you slapped your old boss, O'Brien, and Malfoy went to find you. He came and had dinner with Ginny and I that night. Granted, he invited himself. He said that he had wanted to date you for a very long time. He said he had been interested in you since the war, but that he didn't think you would have been receptive of his advances at that time. He actually asked us for our permission to start seeing you. He even said that he could picture marrying you someday. Of course, Ginny and I were not overjoyed, and we didn't quite believe him at that time, but, Hermione, I believe him now. He loves you."

After Harry's long speech, she said, "Go tell him I want to see him, and if you want to go on home and leave him here with me, you can."

"You're not going to hex him if I leave are you?" Harry laughed.

"You're an Auror; I hardly think I would confide in you if that were my plan. You would arrest me." She smiled back.

Harry gave her a chaste goodbye kiss on the lips, and then told Malfoy to come in.

Draco walked up to the door and slowly pushed it open. He had a bouquet of wild flowers and heather in his hand. How did he manage that in the middle of winter? He also had an envelope. He walked up to the table, sat down, and handed both to her. She sat the flowers to the side and then opened the envelope.

After she read the note she said, "This is a dry cleaning bill for my wedding dress!" She was amused, but also somewhat shocked.

"You were gone on your little 'find yourself trip', so I took it upon myself to get your dress cleaned and altered. I thought I would hand deliver this bill, because I recall the last time I tried to give you a dry cleaning bill, you kept throwing them away. I am unemployed, you know, and my finances are rather tight, so I think you should pay your own bills," he said with an air of indignity.

She retorted, "Yes, I'm sure you're having trouble managing all those millions of galleons. You must be on a very tight budget to be sure."

"It's been rough," he said with a laugh. "What is this place?" he added.

"It's a cottage that my parents owned before I was even born. We used to come here during the summers, sometimes. I just wanted to see it again," Hermione answered.

"Let me get this straight, I give you house for a wedding present, and you already had a house? I'm outraged. How many other pieces of real estate are you hiding from me?" he asked as he stood to walk over to her. He lifted her up and kissed her forehead. "Can we go home now? Are you done with your journey of enlightenment? All this fresh sea air is bad for my complexion," he mused.

"What will the sea air do to you? Make you more pallid and pale. Is that humanly possible? Your skin is so pale now it's almost translucent," Hermione joked.

"Yes and I see it does wonders for your curly hair," he rebounded.

Hermione decided to go home. She thought she was going home by coming here, but she realized that home was where the heart was, and her heart was with him.

**Wednesday early afternoon, at their flat: **

When they arrived home, she told him she was going to lie down for a while. As he walked to the kitchen, he concluded that before they got married, he was going to tell Hermione the whole truth. He did not want to build their whole marriage on a foundation of deceit. If she really loved him, then none of what he would say would make a difference anyway.

He went to wake her up after about an hour. "Do you want to do anything before our parties tonight?" he asked her as he handed her a cup of tea.

"Do you have any more wedding preparations?" she asked him.

"No, my bonny little witch, I told you not to doubt my abilities. Everything is taken care of completely," he said with a smile.

"Everything?" she asked. He merely nodded and took her cup from her and placed it on the bedside table. He then pulled her into his arms and started to kiss her neck.

She said, "I thought you asked me if I would like to do anything before our parties?"

"I changed my mind," he said as he kissed the other side of her neck, "I've decided that we should just have fun here at home." Then he gave her a passionate kiss on the lips.

She pulled away from him and said, "I think we should wait to have sex until our wedding night. Make it special, you know?"

"You've got to be joking," he said dead serious.

"No, I'm not," she acknowledged, also dead serious.

"But, Hermione, it's not like we haven't had sex before. You can't go back to being a virgin, you know. Let me put this in terms you would understand; you can't unread a book." He laughed.

She pushed him off the bed and stepped over his body and said, "I want to wait." Then she walked out of the room.

He reclined back on the floor and yelled, "No worries, I plan on having lots of sex at my bachelor party tonight. That should hold me over until our wedding night."

She walked back in the room and pointed her wand at him. He had seen that look in her eyes before, and although he was too much of a man to admit it, he was afraid of her. She looked at him through hooded eyes and said, "Now you better be the one that's joking."

He stood up and said, "I might be, I might not." He walked up to her and grabbed her wand. They both held on to it for dear life.

"I mean it, Draco, no sex with anyone tonight, not in any form. If I find out you weren't a good boy; and believe me, I will find out; I will hex your balls off." She looked very serious.

"I thought I once told you, that you can't tell me what to do," he said arrogantly, and then he let go of her wand and made to walk past her, but instead turned around and grabbed her by the waist with one arm and with the other he had his wand out and pointed it under her chin. As he stood behind her, she dropped her wand to the floor, and put her head back on his shoulder and looked up at him.

"Are you going to hex me, Malfoy?" she asked amused.

"I could, but I won't this time. However, I do have a word of warning, Hermione. You better not have sex with anyone tonight, either."

She started laughing, and pushed out of his arms. "At a wedding shower, Malfoy? With whom would I have sex? Ginny?" she asked.

He cocked his head slightly and said, "Now that I might enjoy seeing."

She hit him hard on his arm and said, "Fine, I will have sex with Ginny tonight and you can live out your fantasy and have sex with Harry." After she said that, she ran from him. He chased her, but she was faster and she locked herself in the bathroom.

"Where is your cat, Hermione?" he said with a slow drawl, outside of the bathroom door, "he must pay for your bad joke."

She swung the door open and started to yell at him, when she saw he was leaning against the doorframe with a smile on his face.

"Let's go shopping," he said unexpectedly.

"Where did this come from?" she wondered.

"I just thought you might like to get something nice to wear tonight and I need a new outfit as well."

"I'm sure I can find something to wear and I know you have plenty of clothes," she concluded.

"I want to go shopping," Draco whined.

"You are such a girl," she said.

"Are you making derogatory remarks about your own gender, Granger?" he asked.

"No, I think I'm making a derogatory remark about you, Malfoy," she answered.  
He stood there staring at her, with the look of a five year old who wasn't getting his own way, and she finally said, "Fine, we can go shopping, but I would like to go to a Muggle department store."

"That's okay. I don't mind the Muggles, and I like their clothes. Let me get our coats," he said exuberantly.

When they arrived at the department store, Draco went directly to the men's department, and left Hermione to her own devices. She was in the dressing room trying on different outfits, when all of the sudden she saw his head appear under the dressing room door.

"Get out of here, Malfoy! How did you even know it was me in here?" she hissed.

"I recognized your feet," he said. Her feet? He was insane. "Let me see your dress," he commanded.

She walked out and she had on a short, tight fitting, simple, black dress. "Well, I approve of the colour, but why would you want to wear something like that in front of a bunch of women?" he asked her.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and said, "Maybe I want to look good for myself, not for other people. I like it. I think I'll get it."

"Well, I don't approve. Go take it off and try on something else," he said seriously.

That remark made her want to buy it even more. "No, I want this dress," she told him.

"Well, I refuse to buy it for you, and let's see the price," he said, as he pulled her over to him and look at the price tag that was resting under her arm, "oh yes, you won't be able to afford it, so I guess it's a different outfit for you after all, Granger." He patted her on the bottom and seemed very pleased with himself. She went back in the dressing room, removed the dress, and walked up to the sales counter and put the dress down.

"Do not buy that dress, Granger," he said sternly, walking up behind her.

"Go to hell, Malfoy," she answered.

She paid for her dress and then turned to him and said, "Let's see what you bought."

She tried to look in his shopping bag, but he pulled the bag from her, and said, "No!"

"Let me see," she said again.

"Madam," Draco said to the sales woman, "could you call your security people. This young woman is trying to steal my purchases." The sales woman laughed because she knew he was joking.

"Malfoy, you are such a prat. Let me see!" Hermione said as she tried again to look in his bag. He held it high above her head and held her back with one arm.

"Madam, have you called your security personnel yet? Now she is getting violent," he again addressed the clerk. The clerk merely laughed again. At least someone thought his actions were entertaining.

Hermione gave up and walked away from him, out of the store. He followed. Once they were outside she said, "Well thanks a lot, Malfoy; yet another establishment that I won't be able to show my face. Must you always act like such a prick in public?"

"Language, Granger," he retorted.

She walked away from him as fast as she could. Soon, he was separated from her on the busy Muggle street. He saw her curly head disappear in the crowd of holiday shoppers. He concluded that Hermione did not have a sense of humour. None at all. He found an abandoned alley and apparated home. She was already there when he arrived. She was starting to get in the shower when he walked in to the bathroom. She screamed and said, "You scared me! Get out, I'm not dressed." Without a doubt, she had stripped down to nothing but her knickers, and she was holding her towel in front of her chest.

He pulled the towel away from her and she covered herself with her arms. He looked angry. He walked up to her and said, "Not only are you a bloody prude, but you have no sense of fun and a terrible sense of humour." She felt like he had slapped her in the face. He turned to walk out of the bathroom and she followed.

She grabbed her towel from him and said, "I have a fantastic sense of humour. You're just angry because I don't think you are funny." She went back to the bathroom, locked the door, and took her shower.

Not funny to her. Everyone knew that Malfoy had a terrific sense of humour. She just did not see that. No, she was too busy getting her wand out of her arse to see his sense of humour. That thought made him smile. See, he had an excellent sense of humour.

**Wednesday evening: ****  
**  
She was all dressed and ready to go out, but she could not get her zipper. He was showered, but not dressed. He was standing in a towel, shaving at the bathroom mirror. She walked into the bathroom and said, "Will you zip me please?" She turned around with her back toward him.

"If you are wearing that dress, then no, I won't," he said. It was the principle of the thing, he thought.

She turned back around and said, "Seriously, you won't zip me?" She actually looked quite lovely in that dress. He put his hands on her waist, turned her back around, and zipped her dress. Then he turned her again so she was facing him, wrapped his arms tightly around her, and kissed her soundly on the lips. He moved his lips slowly against hers. He bit her bottom lip and made her moan. He ran his tongue slowly against the edges of her mouth and once she opened her mouth to him, he let his tongue dance seductively with hers. She could feel him getting hard underneath his towel. He pressed his whole body against hers and put one hand in her hair and the other one on her bum. She put her hands up against his chest and pushed away from him. "I'm going to be late. I have to be there at 6 pm," she said breathlessly.

He still held her in his arms and said, "You look so beautiful," then with a husky voice he added, "I can't wait to unzip that dress tonight."

She pulled completely out of his arms and reminded him, "No sex until the wedding night." She started down the hall.

He leaned out of the bathroom door and said, "Get back here, I command you."

She openly laughed at him and said, "The day you command me to do anything is the day I become a Death Eater."

"Stranger things have happened, Granger," Draco responded, and then he went back into the bathroom.

As she was leaving, she yelled out, "How late will you be tonight? Will I see you later?"

He was still in the bathroom and he said, "I don't know how late I'll be. If the party seems interesting, I might be very late. Don't wait up for me."

She walked back to the bathroom door, and said, "Just be good tonight."

He responded with, "Yes, Mummy."

"I mean it, Malfoy," she said at the door. "No sex tonight. Not even with Harry," she said with a laugh, and then mostly to herself she said, "See, I have a sense of humour."

He leaned out the door to watch her retreating figure, and merely smiled.

**Wednesday evening, ****6:12 pm****: **

When Hermione arrived at Ginny's, she was pulled in the living room and Ginny said, "You're late! Hurry up and open up all your presents, because we have reservations for 7pm."

Hermione looked around the room and saw many familiar faces; people she went to school with, and people from work, as well as some of Ginny's sister-in-laws.

"I thought we were having the shower here?" Hermione asked bewildered.

"No silly," Ginny said with a giggle, "the shower thing was just something I told Harry. We have reservations at the hottest new Wizard nightclub, called The Black Raven. There's going to be a live band, and I even hired special entertainment just for us. Now hurry up and open your presents."

Hermione took Ginny to the side and said, "Seriously, I don't think Malfoy would appreciate the fact that I'm having a bachelorette party instead of a shower."

"Oh, Hermione," Ginny exclaimed, "he was the one to suggest the bachelorette party in the first place and I think it's an excellent idea. We will have so much fun. Stop being such a stick in the mud and open your damn presents."

**Wednesday evening, ****7:20 pm****: **

Malfoy and his friends arrived late at the club. Harry, Ron and his brothers, as well as some other people from work were already there. Blaise told Draco, "I reserved the private party room at the back of the club. This is supposed to be the hottest nightclub around."

"What's it called?" Draco asked as they entered the doors.

"The Black Raven," Blaise stated.

When the men walked toward the back room, Malfoy thought he heard a laugh that sounded like Hermione. He looked around the club and saw a large table with a bunch of woman, and at the head of the table was Hermione. That little vixen. She was having a bachelorette party after all. He told Blaise and the rest of the men that he would meet them in the back room.

He walked over to the table where the women were and saw a waiter sitting on Hermione's lap! She was laughing hard. The bloke bent down and whispered something in her ear, and she covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head no. Draco was furious. He thought, 'Well, two could play that game'. He went to the back room and asked Blaise, "So, are there women at this party, or what?"

Hermione looked up just in time to see the back of Draco's blond head in the crowd of people. He was walking toward the back room. She pushed the waiter off her lap and leaned over to Ginny, who was laughing, and said, "Ginny, the boys are having their bachelor party at this same club. I just saw Draco enter the back room."

"So?" Ginny said, "As long as they stay back there, they won't bother us."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Hermione gasped as she started to stand.

"Hermione, sit down and have fun. Go dance, or go make out with one of the waiters. Get drunk. I don't know, just stop being such a prude," Ginny told her as she turned back toward the table and downed another drink.

Why did everyone think she was a prude? She went to the door that she saw Malfoy walk through and looked in. All the men were already drinking and there were a bunch of beautiful women, hanging all over all the men. A beautiful blond woman had her arms around Draco's neck, and was whispering in his ear. The next thing Hermione knew, Draco had pulled that woman down into his lap. He looked up in time to see Hermione at the door. At first, he was glad she saw, but when he saw the crestfallen expression on her face, he actually felt ghastly. He tried to push the blond off his lap, but she held on tight. Hermione shut the door quietly and walked out.

Hermione walked up to a very good-looking man, a complete stranger, and asked him if he would like to dance. "It's my bachelorette party, and I want to have fun tonight," she told him. He said he would love to dance and told her his name was Joel.

The band was playing a very loud, fast song, and Hermione and Joel went out to the dance floor. All the girls at Hermione's table started applauding them. They were yelling, "Have fun, Hermione!" and, "Way to go, Hermione!" Malfoy walked up to the dance floor just as Hermione and the strange man started dancing. All he thought was, 'The little bitch.'

He went back to the back room, grabbed the beautiful blond by the arm and said to everyone, "Let's move the party out to the dance floor!" He and the blond started dancing right next to Hermione and the man.

When the girls at the table saw the men come to the dance floor, some were upset, some surprised, and some happy to see them. Ginny walked up to Blaise and said, "Take your little group back to your private room; we are having our party out here!"

"Potter, tell your wife to shut the hell up," Blaise said.

"I don't think so, Zabini," Harry said dryly. He knew he could not tell Ginny anything, even if he wanted. By now, most of the members of bachelor party were sitting around the table with the girls.

Hermione and Draco were still dancing, but not with each other. Hermione had yet to realize Draco was on the dance floor. Draco could not help but realize Hermione was. The next song was a slow song and Joel asked Hermione if she wanted to continue dancing. She declined and started to walk off the floor, when she saw Malfoy moving slowly with some blond bimbo. The woman had her hands all over Draco and he had his face nestled in her hair. Hermione stood there stunned and dismayed. By that time, everyone at the table was also silently shocked.

The next thing Draco did caused a collective gasp from all their friends. He kissed the blond. Not a slow and sensual kiss, but a kiss all the same. In reality, the woman kissed Draco before he knew what was happening. He did not exactly push her away though, and that was where he made his fatal mistake. When he did push her away, after perhaps just a few seconds, he saw Hermione walk up to him and she did something she had not done to him in over four months. She slapped him soundly on the cheek. He put his hand up to his cheek and stared down at her. She looked up at him, with no emotion on her face, and she turned around, went to the table, got her purse, and started toward the door.

Draco ran up to catch her. When they were both at the door, but not yet outside, he swung her around and said, "Having a nice bridal shower, Granger."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was having a very nice one, until you ruined it," she said without anger or malice. She just looked at him. Still no emotion to her voice or face. What was wrong with her? "And for your information," she continued, "I didn't know Ginny had this planned. I went along merely because I was tired of everyone calling me a prude and telling me I did not know how to have fun. That was why I danced with that man. I was tired of everyone calling me a prude, you included, Malfoy. Well, you know what? I don't care what everyone thinks. I would rather be a stick in the mud, prude, than a liar. You're a liar, Malfoy. I can't trust you." She turned to leave, but he pulled her back again.

"I didn't mean to kiss her. She kissed me. I only danced with her because I was jealous. I saw you when I first entered the club and some man was on your lap, whispering in your ear, and I was jealous, so that's why I got cozy with the blond. I wanted to make you jealous, because I was," he said with a defeated attitude.

"Go back and have fun at your bachelor party, Malfoy, I'm going home," she said as she left the club.

Just then, Harry, Ginny and Blaise came outside and Blaise said, "Listen you two, stop being jealous children and let's all go in there and have fun together, one big party, okay? Then, if you two want to dance or snog or anything else, you can do it with each other." He turned and walked back into the club.

"Hey, Malfoy," Ginny said. He turned to look at her. "Hermione didn't even want to come out tonight when she found out what was planned. We goaded her into coming. She knew you wouldn't approve, and she was worried about disappointing you. Moreover, do you want to know why she really didn't want to come? She didn't want to come because she didn't want to deceive you. Now stop being an arse-hole and both of you come inside this instant, it's freezing out here." Ginny turned around and grabbed Harry's arm and they went back inside.

"Mrs. Potter apparently thinks she can order everyone around just because she does it with her little husband," Draco stated to no one in particular. Then he turned back to Hermione, who was leaning up against the wall of the nightclub, and said, "Hermione, I don't want to be in there with anyone but you. Let's go in there and show everyone how much fun we can have together. Please."

She looked at him, and then slowly walked up to him and put her arms around his waist and leaned her full weight onto his body. "Did I hurt you, when I slapped you?'" she asked without looking up at him.

He put his hand under her chin and looked directly into her eyes, and responded, "You have hit me much harder than that before. I seriously think you're losing your touch." She smiled at him and they walked back into the nightclub.

_(End of day five)_


	6. Day Six Thursday Another Week in the

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Day Six**

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**Thursday ****9:43 am****:****  
**  
The snow was falling freely, blanketing the earth with a thick layer of white. The windowpanes of their little flat were crystallized with frost. There was a general chill to the air. No matter how many layers of clothing, or how many fires were lit, Draco could not feel warm. He was cold. Perhaps colder than he had ever felt.

He was sitting alone on the couch reading his paper. Hermione was still in bed. They arrived late last night from their party and too much wine, song and dance was a heavy burden to bear, thus the reason Hermione was still asleep. Draco, however, had been awake for hours. He was cold, alone, and somewhat sad. He knew that if he was going to confront Hermione, he must do it today or tomorrow for their wedding day was less than two days away. If there was even going to be a wedding.

He had to tell her. Maybe he should wait until tomorrow. Just have fun today. Their last day of fun before either marriage or hatred came into their lives. Yes, tomorrow would be a good day. Tomorrow.

He got up and stoked the fire. He went to put the kettle on and he fed the cat. He looked in on Hermione and she was still snug in their bed, with slumber her only guise. He made a cup of tea and went back to the couch. He picked up his paper and began to read. A moment later, he heard Hermione in the bathroom. A moment after that he saw her tiptoe to the couch and rest her body along its length, with her head on his thigh.

He stroked her hair and said, "Good morning, sleepy head."

She merely grunted a reply. Draco bent down and kissed the top of her head. He neatly folded his paper and said, "What do you want to do today?"

She did not respond for a minute, but then she asked, "Do we have any more wedding preparations that need our attention?"

"What is this 'we' business?" he wondered aloud. "I have been doing all the preparations myself. Me, myself and I, and, I must say, I am very impressed with myself, for I have everything under control. Therefore, today is a free day, since tomorrow is the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and then Saturday morning is the big day. Dum, Dum, Dum, Dum," he sang the wedding march.

She sat up, but snuggled closer to him, and put her head on his shoulder. He wrapped both arms around her. "We could go to a museum today," she declared.

Draco knitted his brows and spelled out the word, "Y-A-W-N; in case you aren't aware, Granger, that spells out 'NO'."

"We could go to the Library," she said with a smile, not looking up at him.

"I would rather go to the museum," he said with indifference. "When you can come up with a serious suggestion, Granger, just let me know."

She scooted away from him, reclined on the other end of the couch, and put her cold feet on his lap. He took both her feet in his hands and tucked them under his shirt to keep them warm. Finally, she said, "You decide, Malfoy, I'm too tired."

"We could stay in all day and have wild passionate sex," he said, while letting his fingers creep up under the leg of her pajama pants. "Something involving whipped crème and leather comes to mind."

"No, we will wait until Saturday night, minus the whipped crème and leather," she said and she kicked his hand away. He grabbed her ankle, and pulled, and she was soon closer to him. He bent over and started to tickle her ribs. She screamed and said, "Stop it, Malfoy!" through her laughter.

He was now almost on top of her, still tickling her ribs, but she put her knees up and pushed him away. He rolled off her and rolled onto the floor. "No fair, Granger, you always resort to physical abuse." As he lay on the floor by the couch, she looked down at him and put her hand on his face.

"Hey, Malfoy, are we going to call each other 'Granger' and 'Malfoy' even after we're married?" she asked.

"I have to admit, I've never given it a thought. I mean, you will be a Malfoy by then as well, but we can't both be called Malfoy, because that would be confusing. Anyway, I call you Hermione sometimes," he told her. At least he thought he did, didn't he?

"Yes, you call me Hermione during sex and sometimes when you're angry," she told him, as she looked down at him, as he was still on the floor.

He took her hand and pulled her down on top of him. "You don't exactly call me Draco that often either and it's a perfectly good name, unlike Hermione."

She sat up on him, straddling his hips, and said, "Hermione is a perfectly good name too, Malfoy! It's from Greek mythology, and a Shakespeare play!"

He looked at her with a mix of humour and pity and said, "I just don't know what you did to your parents when you were still in the womb to make them hate you so much that they would saddle you with a name like that, but it must have been pretty severe. I mean you probably couldn't even spell it until you were twelve."

She hit him in the chest and said, "Oh yes, DRACO, your name is so much better. It sounds like a bathroom cleaner." She hit him once more and made to get off him, but he rolled her over and he straddled her.

"Draco is a wonderful name, HERMIONE," he said her name exaggerated, the way she had said his seconds before. "It is means Dragon, and it's also the name of a constellation, and I happen to think it's a distinguished name."

"Please get off me, Dragon," she sighed. Then she added, "Have you gained weight? You seem heavier." He stood up from her, took a pillow from the couch, and threw it down on her face. When she made to get up, he threw another pillow; then he threw both sofa pillows from the back of the sofa and put them on top of her. As a last resort, he took the quilt that was on the back of the sofa, put it over her, and lay back down on top of her and on top of the pile of pillows and covers.

Then he said, "I haven't gained weight, little girl. This is all muscle."

"Get off!" she said, with her voice muffled underneath the pillows and quilt.

"Say you're sorry," he yelled, while leaning on her and pressing more of his weight on her.

"I can't breathe, you prat!" she said under the covers. He stayed on top of the pile, and was about to demand another apology, when she cried out, "Please, I really can't breathe!" He pulled the covers off her and helped her up. She was out of breath. He put both hands on her face and he seemed mildly concerned. Suddenly, she bent over, and was really having trouble breathing. She was hyperventilating. He took her by her arms and shook her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, now not only concerned, but also terrified. He leaned over, looked in her face. Still bent over, she was breathing heavily. He didn't know what to do. He went to go get a paper bag. He ran back to her, sat her on the couch, and told her to breathe in through her nose and out her mouth, into the paper bag.

After just a few moments, her hyperventilation ceased. She handed him back the bag and he sat beside her on the couch.

"Gee, Granger, I didn't mean to actually suffocate you," he said harshly, angry with himself, not her.

"It wasn't that," she said, still breathless, "I think I was having an anxiety attack. I don't like being confined like that. I felt trapped, being unable to move, and with you on top of me. That's all." She was feeling much better.

"If you really wanted to go to the museum that bad, all you had to do was beg, you didn't have to hold your breath to get your way," he smirked. He climbed back beside her on the couch and held her close.

He continued to stroke her hair, when all of the sudden she sat upright, turned to face him and said, "I know, let's go to the zoo!"

"The zoo?" he asked. Did he hear her right? "Isn't it a little cold for the zoo, Granger?"

"It's not that cold, and besides, they have a lot of indoor exhibitions as well. It'll be fun. Have you even ever been to a Muggle zoo, Malfoy?" she asked.

"Yes, my father took me to a Muggle zoo when I was a child," he said in all seriousness.

"Really?" she asked with surprise. "Your father took you to a MUGGLE zoo?" she quizzed him.

"Yes," he said with disdain, "and actually it was kind of nice. I liked seeing all the Muggles in their natural habitat, and the more dangerous ones were in cages, so I felt safe the whole time." He turned to look at her and her eyes were as wide as saucers.

She got up, threw a pillow back at him, and said, more to her self than to him, "Why do I even try. I should know better by now, but no, I guess I don't." She shook her head incredulously and before she had left the room, he bounded for her, picked her up, and swung her around.

"You looked so funny, Granger. Were you picturing my father and me looking at all the little Muggles in their cages? Feeding them treats between the bars?" He was laughing. "You're so gullible, and once again, Granger, you show you have no sense of humour at all!" He swung her until they were both dizzy and then he actually dropped to the floor with her on top. She hit him on the chest again, tried to stand, but was too dizzy, and sat back on the floor.

"When will you realize that I just don't think you are humourous!" she yelled down at his face. She pushed against his chest to stand and once she was standing stepped on his hand for good measure. She sauntered to the bathroom and shut the door.

"You love me, Granger!" he yelled. Then, while still on the floor, he said to himself, "I know she loves me."

**Thursday, ****1:13 pm****: ****  
**  
They were both reading in the living room. They had showered, dressed, and ate lunch, pretty much in silence. He put his book down and frowned. As if sensing his disdain, she put her book down as well, and looked at him from across the room.

"I just thought of something, Granger," he stated.

"Well, don't think too hard, your head might cave in," she retorted.

He ignored her rude comment and walked out of the room. 'Where was he going?' She wondered. He walked back in the room, holding a rather large pile of parchments. Now very interested, she asked, "What do you have there?"

"A pre-nuptial agreement. It was owled to me by my family's estate lawyer Tuesday night," he said. He handed it to her, and she took it, and looked up at him in shock.

"You expect me to sign a pre-nuptial agreement?" she asked with a mix of anger and surprise.

"Well, you should read it first, but then, yes, I do." He sat down on the arm of her chair. She read the lengthy document and after about 30 minutes, she looked up at him and said, "Go get me a quill." He jumped off the chair and returned with a quill. She signed the parchment, handed it back to him, and then picked up her book again. That was too easy, he thought. He hadn't really forgotten about the document. He had just dreaded giving to her.

"Granger, do you have a fever?" he asked as he felt her head.

Looking up from her book, she asked, "What?" He put the document on the mantel, sat back on the arm of her chair, and felt her cheeks.

"A fever; do you have a fever? Are you unwell?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Stop being a prat." She hit his hands away.

"It's just, I didn't think you would want to sign the pre-nuptial agreement, that's all," he told her truthfully.

"Listen, Malfoy, I'm a smart girl. That pre-nuptial was a smart thing for you to do. I can appreciate that. Anyhow, did you read it?" she asked him.

Truthfully, he did not. "No."

"Well, if you had you would have seen that if I divorce you, I get half of all your money, and if you die, I get it all. See, it's a win-win situation for me." She picked her book back up. Did it really say that? He picked it back up off the mantel and read the whole thing. Damn. That lawyer should be fired. Oh well.

"I'm not worried. I have no plans of ever divorcing you or dying, so my money is safe," he laughed. He stood back up, put the pre-nuptial back on the mantle, picked her up off her chair and sat down with her on his lap. "Have you gained weight, Granger?" he mocked her, asking her what she asked him earlier.

"Yes, I have actually," she answered, with her nose still in her book. "Women tend to gain weight when they're pregnant."

"WHAT?" he yelled while standing, knocking her off his lap. She started to roll on the floor with laughter.

"Talk about seeing the look on someone's face," more laughter, "you should see your face right now, Malfoy!" Laughter and snort. She stood up, brushed herself off and said, "Thank goodness I'm not really pregnant, the way you've been throwing me around today."

"You're mean," he said plaintively.

"No, I'm not. You're the mean one," she said back.

"If I didn't love you so much, I would truly hate you," he said in conclusion. He sat back down and she sat back on his lap. She put both hands on his face and stroked his cheeks. She smiled at him and linked her hands behind his head. She leaned in and kissed his lips so softly, he was not sure if it was a kiss or just his imagination.

She then kissed one cheek, then the other. She ran her tongue around his ear and sucked slowly on the earlobe. One of his hands went under the back of her shirt and the other went to her neck. They started kissing. She tasted like fruit from the gods. He pushed her slightly away from him, looked at her sternly and said, "Don't start something you don't intend to finish, Granger. If you truly want to wait until Saturday night, then I suggestion you get off my lap this instant, otherwise, I won't be responsible for my actions." He held her gaze for a moment longer and she leaned toward him again, kissed him quickly on the lips and got off his lap.

He stood as well, and said, "Let's go to the damn zoo." He took her hand, led her to the hallway, threw her coat at her, put on his, and stormed out the front door.

**Thursday, afternoon:****  
**  
They walked down the street, holding hands, and they looked like any other couple on a stroll on a cold December afternoon, except for one thing: Draco was practically pulling Hermione down the street. She looked more like his hostage, or his captive, then his fiancée. He came to a complete stop and said, "How do we get to this damn zoo?"

"Draco, please stop for a moment," Hermione said, pulling her hand out of his grasp, "It's probably too late to go to the zoo now, anyway, why are we walking so fast?"

"I thought you wanted to go to the zoo?" he asked in all sincerity.

"Not particularly," she answered, "let's just walk." She walked back up to his side and put her arm around his waist. He put his arm around her shoulders and they continued to walk. After several minutes had past she said, "When are we going to move to the new house? Right after the ceremony?"

Draco hadn't even thought of that. Since he told Hermione he had everything under control, perhaps he should act otherwise. "I thought we would spend our wedding night back at the flat and then move to the house after a couple of days."

"I think we should spend our wedding night at the new house. That would be kind of nice, don't you think?" she stated back to him.

He pulled her closed, and merely said, "Yes." That would be nice, very nice indeed.

They continued on their stroll, with the winter wind whipping around them. Next, she asked him, "Where are we going on our honeymoon?"

'Goodness, Granger!' he thought. He had not thought of that yet. He thought he had everything planned, and everything under control. Should he admit that he forgot to plan the honeymoon, or should he fudge his way around the topic? "Don't be annoyed, but I forgot to plan the honeymoon," he said, as he decided to tell her the truth.

"Maybe I can come up with something," she suggested. The truth was she wanted them to go back to her parent's cabin by the sea. "You know, we could go back to the cabin. I would like to show you all the places I used to go as a child, and it's fairly secluded, so we won't be bothered by anyone," she said as she stopped walking and looked up at him. He smiled and squeezed her shoulder.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea, Granger. I'm glad I forgot to plan the honeymoon. To your cabin we will go. In fact, we should just go there for the wedding night, instead of the new house. It seems like as good of place as any to shag you till you can't see straight," Draco told her with enthusiasm. She playfully knocked him into a shop window. He pushed her back.

They were approaching a little restaurant, when Draco asked Hermione if she wanted to go in and have dinner. She nodded in affirmation, and they walked in and sat down. The waitress came and took their order, and they sat in the booth, with him holding both of her hands and he started to ask her a question about her cabin when he was interrupted by a loud booming voice.

"Draco Malfoy! Of all people, to find you in this type of little restaurant. What are you doing here?" A tall, black haired man approached their table. It took Draco a few minutes to recognize the man. It was Marcus Flint. He was several years ahead of Hermione and Draco in school, and he was in Slytherin with Draco.

Draco stood up, not happy to see the man since he never really like him, and shook his hand. "Hello, Flint, I could ask you the same question."

"Oh, I like to mingle with the little people occasionally. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Marcus turned to Hermione, raised his eyebrows, and extended his hand to her. She took his hand and he put her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.

Draco frowned as he said, "This is my fiancée. We're getting married the day after tomorrow." Draco was still standing. Marcus still had Hermione's hand. If he didn't release her hand in one more second, Draco would probably punch the man soundly in the jaw. Sensing Draco's annoyance, Hermione pulled her hand from the other man's grip.

"Does your fiancée have a name?" Marcus questioned with a leer.

"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione spoke, since it appeared Draco forgot how to speak.

"You're kidding?" Marcus seemed filled with glee and Hermione's face showed she was dejected. "Draco Malfoy is marrying the most famous Mudblood around, aye?" He started laughing, but before he could utter another world, Draco let his earlier urge to strike the man become a reality, and the man fell on the floor with a thud. "What the hell, Malfoy?" he yelled from the floor.

Hermione didn't know what to think or say. Draco stood over the man and then decided to help him up, but not out of kindness. Draco picked the man up by his collar, stood him up, and said, "Get the hell out of here, Flint."

"Same old Malfoy," Flint goaded, "You still think you own the world. No matter, defend your little Mudblood's honour, but we both know the truth, do we not, Malfoy? Does she?" He pointed to Hermione. "I mean nobody thought you would marry a Mudblood. You were only meant to marry a witch of less than pureblood heritage, but of course, you always had to show everyone else up. Do you know the real reason he's marry you, Mudblood?" He turned to Hermione. "Ask him; I'm sure he'll tell you. Of course, he could be marrying you for love, but Malfoy doesn't strike me as the type to fall in love. Maybe he offered you a lot of money, is that it Mudblood?" Marcus spat on the floor and walked away from their table. Everyone in the restaurant looked shocked at the retreating man, for the offensive word he kept repeating. Hermione sat there stunned and disconcerted. She looked over to Draco.

Draco sat back down and he so angry that he was shaking. He didn't want her to hear any of that. That was not how he wanted to have 'this' conversation with her, but now there was no choice in the matter. That damn Flint created unnecessary complications. He looked back at Hermione, but she now had her hands in her lap and her eyes downcast. He didn't know if he should wait for her to speak or if he should speak first.

Their waitress brought their food. Hermione started eating and had yet to comment on what Flint had told her. Draco took her lead and started eating as well.

The fact was, Hermione didn't know what to say to Draco. Now was not the time or place to ask him what Flint meant, even though she already knew deep in her heart what he meant. She was correct in her assumption that the Ministry imposed all pureblood wizards to marry women who were not. That much she knew in her heart was true, but she would wait and see if Draco would tell her. She didn't want to be the one to confront him. She suddenly didn't feel hungry at all. She put her fork down and excused herself to the bathroom.

Draco was frantic. He didn't think now was the time or place to tell her anything. He was going to tell her tomorrow anyway. That was what he had planned earlier and he certainly would have been more delicate approaching the subject, then that damn Flint had been. He put his fork down also, called the waitress over, and asked for their bill. He knew that neither of them would be able to eat now.

He stood outside the lady's room door, to wait for Hermione. She had been in there for a while. Maybe she disapparated, and went home, or somewhere else. He had just made up his mind to go in and find her when she walked out the door. Her eyes were red. Had she been crying? He held her coat for her and she slipped it on her shoulders. Apparently, they were leaving, she thought. They walked out of the restaurant, and when out of instinct he reached for her hand, she slipped both hands in her coat pockets. They started walking back toward the flat and he made to pull one of her hands out of her coat pocket, for him to hold. She stuffed them deeper in her pockets and started walking slightly ahead.

He pulled her arm, to slow her down, and she broke out in a run. He was faster so he caught up in no time. Now they were both running down the street, side by side. They must look ridiculous, Malfoy thought. When they rounded a corner, Malfoy collided into a bench and toppled over, head first, on to the sidewalk. Hermione slowed down and looked back. He was on the ground, clutching his knee. She walked back over, and without a word, pulled his hand away and looked at the tear in his trousers. Under the tear, there was a nasty gash on his skin. She reached inside her coat, pulled out her wand, and healed his cut. He looked up from the ground, and held on to her hand with the wand. All he said was, "Hermione".

She pulled her hand from his and started walking again. He stood up as quickly as he could and made his strides follow hers. This time, she reached down for his hand, and laced her fingers in his. He pulled her hand up to his lips and gave the hand a small kiss. When they reached their building, she started down the alley, to reach their stairs. He pulled her back and said, "We have to talk."

She stared up at him, and asked, "May I just ask one question?" He nodded. "Is this a conversation that can wait until tomorrow, because I'm too tired and hungry right now for a deep heart to heart?" Was she serious? The fact was that she was serious. She really did not want to argue with him tonight. Let it wait until tomorrow. She was not even sure she wanted to know the truth.

"Hermione, I just need to say two things. First, I love you with all my heart, and all my soul, and my entire mind, and every fiber of my being. Second, I was planning to talk to you about something very important tomorrow, anyway, so yes, I would like for this to wait until tomorrow, like I had originally planned." She gave him a weak, halfhearted smile, and led them up to their apartment.

He hung up their coats. She went to the kitchen to prepare something for them to eat. He paced back and forth in the living room. Damn Flint! If Malfoy had the ability to hex the man from the living room, he would do so. The encounter in the restaurant changed everything. Hermione was going to be all sad and distant all night and now he was entering into this discussion at a disadvantage, because he would have to start the whole thing differently. Now instead of just explaining everything to her, he would have to defend himself to her. He would have to acknowledge what Flint said first, and that would make everything else take on a different light. Hermione called from the kitchen, "Food's ready." He walked into the kitchen and sat opposite her.

He was right. She was silent and distant. They had been at the table for ten minutes, and they had yet to speak two words to each other. Not even, 'pass the butter' or 'May I have the salt?' He didn't know that she was sitting there, thinking the same thing. She was thinking that the awkward silence was almost deafening. She thought it was her fault. She thought he was still angry about what happened with Flint. She stood up to clear the table and he said, "I'll do it." She nodded her head yes and went to their bedroom.

**Thursday, evening, in their bedroom:**

She sat on the bed. Her attention was drawn to her mother's wedding dress, which hung on a hook in a dress bag, on the back of the door. She locked the bedroom door, and took the dress bag off the hook. She placed the bag on the bed and unzipped it to reveal the dress. She pulled the dress out and it looked as white, new, and beautiful as she imagined it looked the day her mother wore it at her wedding. She slipped out of her clothes and put on the dress. She examined her reflection in the mirror. She didn't know if she looked beautiful or not, but she felt beautiful. She hoped she would get a chance to wear it. She hoped he was still going to marry her. She promised him she wouldn't leave him at the altar and she intended to keep her promise, no matter what he told her tomorrow.

Draco turned the bedroom doorknob. The door was locked. He leaned his face next to the cold wood and said, "Is everything all right in there?"

"Yes, I'm just trying on my dress," she answered in return.

"May I see?" he inquired.

"Its bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding," she answered back. She walked up to the door and put her hand on the wood. He had his hand on the exact same spot on the other side. "Draco, you know, no matter what you want to talk to me about tomorrow, I still plan on marrying you. You know that, don't you?"

Well, if he did not know it before, he knew it now. "Granger, let me in," he begged.

"Let me take this off first," she answered. She removed her wedding dress, for that was now what it was. It was no longer her mum's wedding dress…it was Hermione's dress. She zipped it back in the bag and placed the bag back on the hook on the door. She put on her nightgown. It was still early, but she was tired, and wanted to be comfortable. She opened the door and he slipped inside. He smiled at her. It was a smile, which was more than just an affirmation of his feelings for her, but also a smile that held a question. A question that was asking, "Are we okay?" She smiled back at him. They were okay.

He pulled her in his arms and held her tight. No matter what, she was his, he was hers, and they were going to get married on Saturday morning. He let her go for a second and she went to get under the covers. He said, "Are you tired, Granger? A bit early, isn't it?"

She patted the space beside her, and he went to lie down on top of the covers next to her. She put her head on this chest and his arms wrapped around her, offering her their eternal protection. "Hey, Malfoy, you know the other day at lunch when Harry and Ron interrupted our little game, I had just asked you a question, and you never got a chance to answer. Will you answer now?" She lifted her head up from his shoulder, leaned on her elbow, and with her hand on his chest and his arms still around her, she asked, "Would you rather be poor, but in love, or rich and married, and not in love?"

"Does it matter?" he asked, with his eyes closed. He would rather not look at her that was what he would rather.

"It matters to me," she said, putting her head on his chest once more.

"I would rather be married, in love, and rich," he said with a true smile and then a little laugh.

She cocked her head to look at him again and smiled as well. "Answer the question," she said, hitting him hard on the chest.

"My god woman, must you always get so physically abusive?" he joked. She went back up on her elbow, lying on her side, and he did the same, mirroring her position. "Fine, fine, let me answer your bloody question." He tried to act as if he was in a light mood, but he actually was feeling quite the opposite. "I would rather be poor and in love, but I still don't see why I can't be rich, in love, and married. That's what I am really going to be, so why can't that be my answer?"

"Because that wasn't one of the options," she told him plaintively, while stroking his face.

"I have another one for you, Granger," he stated.

"Yes, I know, I never answered your one question, either. Fine, I would rather have sex with Hagrid, are you happy?" She was smiling.

"You're strange, and that's not what I was going to ask, but that disturbs me quite a bit. No, what I was going to ask was, would you rather be poor and NOT be in love, or rich and in love?" he asked.

She lay on her back and looked at the ceiling. "Well, now you are just being a bloody fool. Of course I would rather be rich and in love. Who wants to be poor and alone?" she responded.

He bent over and kissed her. "Do you think if you had never started dating me you would have been poor and alone?" he asked.

"Well, Mister Ego, I suppose sometime in my life, someone might have wanted me, so I might not have been alone forever, although the poor part might have been true." She looked at him again and this time she kissed him. "Same question, Malfoy, would you have been rich and alone, if you hadn't started dating me, or would you have just married someone else?"

"I can't see myself with anyone but you, Granger. You make everyone else seem plain and boring," he said with a laugh, but she saw sincerity in his eyes. "I'm going to go take a bath. I don't suppose you would like to join me?" he asked, with a smirk.

"Not until our wedding night," she said, turning her back to him. He put his hand on her hip and pulled her back to her back. He climbed on top of her and kissed her slowly and surely. He pressed his body into hers and kissed her all over. When he got up he said, "Just a small preview, my dear, of what you'll get on our wedding night." He walked out of the bedroom and went to draw his bath.

She sat up in bed, tore off the covers, and went running to the bathroom. He was standing beside the tub, in only a towel. He turned to her, taken aback, and she rose on her tiptoes and kissed his lips. He put both arms around her, to hold her up against him. She knew what he intended. He deepened the kiss and moaned. She loved the sweet taste of him and hungered for his embrace. With his eyes closed, he heard her ragged breathing and he thought his need for her would overtake his body.

She growled at the taste of him. The feel of his tongue on hers and his arms around her body was her reward. To have all those wonderful muscles pressed up against her small frame. Yes, that was love. That was what she wanted, but not tonight.

With hesitancy, she pulled away from him, and said, "Now that's what you call a preview, Malfoy." Then she smiled and ran out of the bathroom. Damn woman. Now he would need a cold shower, instead of the warm bath he was intending to take.

_(End of Day 6)_


	7. Day Seven Friday Another Week in th

**all characters belong to JKR**

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**Day Seven**

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**Friday morning, ****8am****:**

Malfoy was rudely awakened on Friday morning by the sounds of pots and pans thrown about in the kitchen. He had a headache already, and that blasted noise was not really helping. He realized that the pain in his head was because he got very little sleep last night. He was up until almost dawn going over in his head everything he meant to tell Hermione today. He was going to tell her the truth today. He did not want to, but he felt he had to.

He was up until the wee hours of the morning rehearsing every possible scenario, repeatedly. He finally figured out exactly what he was going to say, and he knew the different ways he would respond, according to her different reactions. He put his pillow over his head to muffle the noise from the kitchen. Now she was singing! Damn it all to hell. What could she possibly be doing in there that would cause this much racket? His questions were soon answered when he saw a tray levitating into their room, followed by Hermione, who was carrying a cup of tea and his morning paper in one hand, and her wand in the other.

He threw the pillow to the other side of the bed, and sat up with his back up against the headboard. "Good morning, love," she said. She never called him 'love'. She had never made him breakfast. The fact that she was being so loving and sweet chilled him to the bone. What was going on here? The tray floated to his lap, and she sat down on the edge of the bed and handed him his paper. "There's an article on page three about some ancient runes that were discovered recently in Ireland, and I hope you appreciate the fact that I left your paper intact, even though I want to tear out that article later."

"What is all this?" he asked, while taking a bite of bacon.

"Breakfast. It's a meal that's usually served first thing in the morning, before lunch," she explained, as if he was an imbecile. Then she took a piece of his toast and he slapped her hand with the back of his fork. "Ouch; you brute," she said.

"What I meant was, what do I owe this honour of being served breakfast in bed? Have you finally discovered that I'm the king of this castle and should be treated as such?" he joked.

"No, your majesty, I just thought it would be nice. Like my little wedding present to you," she smiled.

"This better not really count as my wedding present, for if I must reiterate again, I shall, I GOT YOU A HOUSE!" Draco bellowed and then took a bite of eggs.

"I didn't know people really got each other wedding presents. When did that tradition start? Do you really mean for me to give you something?" she asked pensively.

"Of course," he said with all seriousness.

"Really?" she quizzed.

"Yes, Granger, give me a present!' he replied while pointing his fork at her. A little piece of egg flew from his fork to her chest. He laughed, picked it off her right breast, and promptly put the piece in his mouth.

"You do realize," Hermione began, "that now that I'm unemployed, I really am on a tight budget, unlike your fake tight budget, which you pretend you are on."

"Well, you can wait until you are Mrs. Malfoy, and then buy me something really expensive," he pleaded, then added, "Because money will be of no object."

"I really think this breakfast in bed will have to do," she said as she levitated the tray back to the kitchen.

He mumbled under his breath, "And to think, I got you a house." He still had a piece of bacon in his hand, and he started to eat it, when she stole it from him and put it in her mouth. "Really, Granger, stealing my wedding present!" he chastised.

"Selfish," she called him.

"Greedy," he retorted back.

"Prat," she smiled.

"Bookworm!" he yelled.

"Stupid, bloody, wanker!" She laughed.

"Stupid, bloody, prude!" he replied with a laugh.

"Whore," she said, with an impish smile.

"Hey, I thought we established that I am not a whore. I'm a stud," he said as he puffed his chest out. She laughed so hard she fell off the bed.

She stood back up and said, "When is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner?"

"Five o'clock sharp," he answered.

"Oh, my gosh!" she suddenly exclaimed, "I totally forgot to ask Ginny to be my matron of honour, and I also wanted Harry and Ron to walk me down the aisle. How could I be so stupid?" She paced the room as she ranted.

He stood from the bed and said, "Gee, Granger, you had a very limited number of things to do, and you didn't even do them. Tsk, Tsk. Good thing for you I already asked them, and they said yes." He came up behind her and enveloped her in his arms. He then kissed her neck.

She turned in his arms and said, "I love you!"

"Just remember that," Draco said, as he stroked her hair. She put her head on his chest, and he kissed the top of her head. "I need to shower and dress. Thanks for breakfast," he said as he released her.

As he headed for the shower, he thought that since she was in such a good mood, their upcoming conversation was probably going to be a piece of cake. After all, she was so smart, she had already uncovered most of his secret, and she still loved him. She apparently still wanted to get married. It would be easy, and maybe he wouldn't have to tell her the whole truth after all. Just the part she already suspected.

When his shower was finished, and he was all dressed, he walked to the kitchen to find her writing on a piece of parchment. "Adding to your pro/con list?" he joked.

"No, I'm making a list of things we can do on our honeymoon," she said, biting her bottom lip and resuming her writing.

"Is your number eleven, and my number two, from our respected pro/con lists on this new list?" Draco asked, while trying to look over her shoulder.

"It's not a sex list, you pervert." She made to cover up the list anyway. "It's a list of the places I want to take you and the things I want us to do. Geesh."

He looked at her and said, "If you won't make a sex list, then I will. Where is the parchment located?" He started to look around the kitchen for parchment and quill. When none could be located, he sat down and said, "You do realize that some of my elves will be arriving shortly to start packing up the flat, don't you."

"Today?" she asked.

"Well, yes, since we're getting married tomorrow morning, I thought it would be easier to stay tonight at Edgewood, since we'll already be there for the rehearsal, and then stay the night there tonight, and get ready there in the morning. Then, after that we will go on our honeymoon, and we will just return from there and go directly to the new house," he explained.

"Is this some elaborate joke? Why don't you ever let me in on anything?" she asked, bewildered.

"If it's joke, then it's on me as well, because that's really what is happening, and don't go acting all concerned now, Granger, if it wasn't for me arranging everything, I doubt anything would get done." He stood up and looked out the window. "It's snowing pretty hard."

"Wow, that was pretty random. First, you were berating me about not helping with the wedding plans, and then you mention the weather. Your chain of thought boggles my mind sometimes." Hermione shook her held in utter disbelief.

"My chain of thought makes perfect sense to me, you little witch." Draco came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I was just thinking that Christmas is only two weeks away, and I was pondering what you were going to give me for Christmas, since you can't even muster up enough money to buy me a wedding present."

She turned in her chair and looked at him with narrow eyes. "Even you aren't that shallow. You were not seriously thinking about presents!" she said. She went back to her list writing. "Anyway," she continued, not even looking up, "I already got you something for Christmas. Did you get me anything?"

He sat back down opposite her and said, "My present to you is the honour and privilege of my hand in marriage."

"But, what if I don't like it or it doesn't fit? I won't be able to take that back," she pointed out, while shaking her quill at him.

"How could I not fit?" he frowned.

"You might be too big," she smiled.

"Too true, too true, in more ways than one, Granger," he joked.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," she said.

"Did you really get me something, Granger?" he asked as he smiled at her.

"Why do you doubt me? The last time you doubted my gift giving abilities, I made you eat your words by giving you my father's watch, remember?" Hermione reminded Malfoy of the present she gave him the first week they were dating. "You know what, Malfoy?" she started, "Stay there. I'll go get your present."

She left the room, and came back with a little wicker basket. "What is it?" he smiled.

"Open it and see. By the way, before you do," she said, "this isn't really your Christmas present, but it is really your wedding present. I was going to give it to you this morning, but when you started whining and demanding a gift, I decided to wait."

He took the basket from her, and opened it to reveal a little grey and white striped kitten.

He frowned and said, "You got me a cat? I don't want a cat." He took it from the basket and promptly handed it to her. He looked at her stunned expression, which quickly turned to hurt, and she placed the kitten back in the basket and started out of the room. "Wait, Granger!" he exclaimed, as he jumped from the chair.

"Of course I want the kitten. I was just surprised, that's all." He took the basket back from her, and opened it to reveal the kitten. He picked it back up and held it with one hand, away from his body.

"Don't hold it like its poisonous, or something," she told him harshly. He brought the kitten up to his chest, and held it more gingerly.

"What's its name?" he asked her.

"That's for you to decide," Hermione told him, while coming to stand next to him and stroking the kitten's fur.

"Is it a boy or girl?" he quizzed.

"A little girl," she smiled.

"I think I'll name her Spartacus," he said.

"What? What kind of name is that?" Hermione seemed appalled. "Anyway, I told you its girl."

"A girl could be name Spartacus," he said. "Anyway," he mocked her, "What kind of name is Crookshanks?" He goaded, "And while we're on the subject, what kind of name is Hermione, what kind of name is Draco? I like Spartacus. It's a good name. Come on Spartacus; come with Daddy. I'll get you some milk." He left the kitchen, holding the little cat close to his chest.

"I think I created a monster," Hermione said to herself.

Just then three little house elves popped into the flat. They explained to Hermione that they were there to start packing their belongings for the move.

Hermione walked into the living room, where Draco was sitting on the couch with the new kitten on his lap and said, "I don't like the idea of your little house elves having to do all the work of packing all our belongings."

"Most of the stuff in this dump is yours, not mine. My stuff is at the Manor, and, you know, they can do magic, too. What's the use of having servants if they can't serve?" Draco explained.

He handed the little kitten to one of the elves and told them to make sure both cats got to the new house unharmed, and then he went and got their coats. "We might as well make ourselves scarce, Hermione; we'll only be in the way. Let's go get some coffee."

Hermione and Draco walked briskly to a coffee shop in Diagon Alley. The snow was swirling all around them, licking and kissing their skin with the bitter wind. They headed to the door of the coffee shop, and Draco said, "After you, Granger," as he held open the door.

"You're such a gentleman," she smiled.

"Well, actually, I was always taught brains before beauty, so that's why you should enter first," he told her. She looked up at him to tell him off, but then she decided he was joking, even though not even a smile traced his face. She decided to go inside and get out of the cold.

The server came to their table and asked them what they wanted. Draco ordered a black coffee, but Hermione was more hesitant. "I don't know what I want," she murmured.

"My goodness woman, you're always so indecisive. I suppose you want to take a few moments to make a pro/con list on which coffee is best, just like your pro/con sex list," Draco said with a sneer. "Just bring us two black coffees," he finally said to the server.

She glared at him, and he looked at her and shrugged his shoulders, as if saying, 'what?' She said, "Again with the public embarrassment. Why do you do that?" She was shaking her head.

He smiled at her and said, "Because it causes you so much discomfort, and I think its fun." She hit his arm as the server returned with their coffees.

"So, Malfoy, wasn't there something important you wanted to talk about to me today?" she asked him, while taking a drink of her coffee.

'Sly Granger', he thought. "Yes, but that can wait until later," he retorted back.

"Let me ask you a question, Malfoy. Growing up, did you really think that purebloods were better than Muggle-borns, merely because of a happenstance of their birth?" she asked him.

"Where in the hell is this all coming from?" he raised his voice.

"Come on," she began, "we both know what you're about to tell me today, because I've already deduced most of the story, so my question is valid, as it goes with what you're going to tell me."

He didn't even respond to her statement or her question. He just got up and walked outside. She followed and grabbed his arm. He slipped out of her hold and started walking down the street, and she followed. He headed to the same park they had been to before, and sat down on the ledge of a fountain, which was frozen over due to the cold. She sat beside him and he finally answered. "Yes, growing up I did think purebloods were better than Muggle-borns, and more deserving of their magic."

She put her hand on his arm and said, "But have you ever taken a moment to consider that even a pureblood wizard's bloodline started somewhere, and perhaps, even if it was thousands of years before, their magic had to start somewhere, and maybe it started with a Muggle-born."

"No, I never considered that." He was answering her honestly.

"You know Voldemort was half blood. Why do you think so many pureblooded wizards followed him so blindly?" Hermione inquired.

Draco was becoming angry. He did not like to defend this particular ideology, especially since he no longer subscribe to it. "I don't have insight to the minds of all Death Eaters, Hermione," he finally spat.

"What about you and your family? Why did you follow him?" she asked.

He stood up in front of her and yelled, in what could only be described as a bellow, "I don't want to talk about this!"

"Why?" Hermione prodded.

"Because it's nonsense and has nothing to do with anything!" Draco reiterated. "It's all in the past Hermione! Isn't it enough for me to say I was wrong, and that I'm sorry for all my past mistakes? Must I keep reliving it all?" he asked with a condescending tone.

"No, you're right, it's enough. I just wanted to know why you wanted to marry me," she said in a small voice.

"What the hell does Voldemort and Death Eaters have to do with that?" he yelled at her.

"Calm down," she pleaded.

"I'm not discussing this now!" he yelled at her.

"Well, since when do you always get what you want?" she yelled back, now standing toe to toe with him.

"Since I met you, I never get what I want!" he responded back.

"You must be joking!" she shouted. "Just tell me why you wanted to marry me!"

"NO!" He ran from her. Actually ran. That was not one of the scenarios he had practiced earlier. He was at a loss. She ran up to him and pulled on his arm.

"Please, Draco, let's get everything out in the open, clear the air between us, so we won't have some big black cloud hanging over our wedding day tomorrow."

He hung his head, and said, without looking at her, "You'll be angry with me."

She put her hand under his chin to raise it so he was looking in her eyes, and she said, "You're probably right. I'll probably be angry. It'll not be the first time I'm angry with you, and we both know it will not be the last. It's somewhat normal for us to be angry with each other."

He took her hand and walked her back over to the fountain. He sighed, and when he still hadn't spoken, she said, "From what I've concluded, and stop me if I'm wrong in my assumption, but it seems the Ministry imposed a law upon all pureblooded wizards, to force them to marry witches of less than pure birth."

"You're partially right," he finally spoke, "not just pureblood wizards, but witches as well, and no one is forcing anyone to marry anyone. Purebloods can still marry purebloods; just if they do, they'll have a large penalty, or fine, imposed upon them."

"How much is the fine?" she asked.

"Ten percent of your net worth," he answered.

"Which is how much for you?" Hermione was curious.

"Ten million galleons," he said sheepishly.

"Wait that would mean you're worth 100 million galleons. Wow," she said. She was impressed.

"You're soon to be worth that much as well," Draco smiled at her.

"Is this a one time fine, if you marry a pureblood, or would you have to pay it more than once?" she asked.

"It would be a one time fine of ten percent, and then one percent of your net worth each year after," he answered.

"Golly," she said.

"Yeah," he responded, meagerly.

"So, time to come clean. If no one is forcing anyone to marry, then why do you want to marry me?" she finally asked.

"Because you're so loving and wonderful," he said while rolling his eyes.

"Seriously, Malfoy, why did you buy your way into the Ministry?" she asked.

"To be close to you, but you already know that," he answered, as he was becoming angry again.

"There has to be more than that." The cogs in her head were working overtime.

"Okay, here's the whole truth. While no one is forcing anyone to get married, the Ministry is imposing other sanctions against purebloods, the longer the pureblood does not get married. Like monthly meetings with a member of the Ministry, and things like taxes, and seizing property, and all kinds of bloody things. So, I felt like I was up against a wall, and I thought, to get them off my back, I would go ahead and get married," he finally explained.

"But why me? You hated me in school, and barely tolerated my existence afterwards. I wouldn't even have classified us as acquaintances," Hermione reminded him.

"True, but that doesn't mean that I didn't have a real interest and attraction to you. I had for a long time, but all that pureblood verses Mudblood garbage was in the way back then," Draco told her.

"But buying your way into a job you didn't deserve, just to pursue me; well, I'm sorry, Malfoy, but that still doesn't make sense to me," she told him.

"Okay, Granger, if I had come up to you and said, 'would you like to go for a bite tonight?' you would have said, 'bite me' and you know that's the truth. I had to make you fall for me. I was upfront as far as my feeling for you, so I'll not apologize for that. I had to make you see that we belonged together, and I did it the only way I knew how, so again, I shall not apologize." He was becoming angry again.

"When did you decide we should marry?" she asked.

He stood up again, and faced her. "I've already told you this! I decided on our first date, not before, not after. I might have said something to Cohn and maybe Zabini before that, something like the fact that I wanted to marry you, but I didn't really see that as a reality until our first date!" He was walking back and forth in front of her. None of this was coming out as he had planned.

"Did you already love me when you started dating me?" she asked him.

"Truthfully, no," Draco told her.

"Would you still have asked me to marry you if you hadn't fallen in love with me?" Hermione asked.

He thought for a moment on that one, and then, trying still to be honest, he said, "Probably." Draco looked at her, and she looked like someone had punched her in the gut. She looked like she was in true pain. "But that's beside the point, because I probably fell in love with you that Friday night I found you crying on your parents' grave, all broken and alone. My heart broke that night, because your heart was breaking, and as I said, I considered seriously marrying you after our first date. Why does any of this matter?" he pleaded.

"So you talked about marrying me before we even dated, but you didn't really think about it seriously until our first date? That doesn't make sense." Now she was standing.

Draco tried to explain, "Partly I had hoped our relationship would turn to marriage before we even dated, due to the bloody restrictions imposed by the Ministry, but it wasn't until our first date that I really saw that I could actually be happy and in love and married to you as well." He was calmer after saying that. He hoped the interrogation would end soon. "May I point out one thing to you, Miss Granger? You agreed to marry me after only one week of dating. I certainly did not point a wand at your head or anything. In addition, none of this changes a damn thing! I love you and want to marry you because of that and you claim you love me as well!" He was so tired of all of this.

She didn't respond, because she didn't know what to say. He spoke again, "Do you want to know what I think, Granger?"

"I'm waiting with baited breath," she said, dripping with sarcasm.

"I think you're trying to find any reason at all to doubt my true feelings and intentions, so you don't have to marry me," he told her plainly.

"That's a load of rubbish!" she yelled at him.

"NO, HERMIONE!" he yelled back, "That's the truth coming up and slapping you in the face, but your little Miss 'Know-it-All' veneer just won't acknowledge the fact." Then he spat, "If you don't want to marry me, don't marry me, but stop all the questions and all the games. I'm sick of it all! I love you and I want to marry you, but I have enough pride not to want to marry you if you don't want to marry me, and let me point one other thing out to you, Miss Know-it-All, I could have just found anyone to marry to get around this law. Hell, I could have paid someone to marry me, and not gone through all the hassle and pain I have gone through with you. Bloody hell, since you think this is all some elaborate scheme of mine, maybe I should pay you. How much money do you want, Hermione? How much money will it take, for you to give me your hand in marriage? Name your bloody price!"

She walked up to him to slap him, but he caught her wrist. "You know what I think?" Draco asked through clenched teeth, "I think you have slapped me enough in one lifetime, and I don't think I'll let you ever do it again." He let go of her wrist, but before he knew what was coming, she slapped him anyway, so Draco Malfoy slapped Hermione Granger back. Right in the face. Not nearly as hard as she slapped him, in fact, it was more of a hard pat. He did it out of instinct, and anger and he had never felt more remorseful about something in his entire life. He was becoming a man that he hated.

She stared at him in shock, with tears forming in her eyes. He didn't know what to say. What do you say at a time like that? Sorry wasn't enough. He never thought he would be a man that would hit a woman. His father used to hit his mother sometimes. He did not want to become his father.

She started crying, and put her hands up to her face. He was at a total loss of what to do or say. He stood there for many minutes and watched her cry. He sat down on the bench, and she sat next to him.

"You slapped me," she stated, through her tears.

"I know. I'm sorry," he said, not making eye contact.

"I slapped you, too," she answered.

"I know, and I'm sorry about that as well," he said, not intending to make light.

"I'm sorry, too," she said, as her tears subsided. "I have to tell you, if you ever strike me again, even though it really didn't hurt, I'll be forced to use an unforgivable curse on you."

"Hermione, if I ever hit you again, I hope you do just that," he said with a serious tone. "I really am sorry. Are you sure I didn't hurt you?" He turned to put his hand on her cheek.

"Not really. I was crying mostly out of embarrassment and shock, more than from pain. You hit like a girl, Malfoy." She smiled.

"Stop saying disparaging things against your own gender, Granger," he said as he smiled back at her.

"Once again, I would like to point out I was saying disparaging things about you, not my gender," she answered him.

He stood up and took her in his arms. "Please, please, Hermione, believe me, I am marrying you because I love you. No other reason."

"Just, no more lies between us, please," she said as she cuddled in his arms. She put her head on his chest, partly because she was cold, and partly because she wanted to hear his heartbeat.

"I promise no more lies," he whispered in her ear.

"I want to believe that," she said into his chest, sounding so defeated.

He pulled her chin up and kissed her lips. He felt defeated as well. "Hermione, at this point, only one thing matters," he began, "do you want to get married or not? We're kind of down to the wire, here."

"If I said I didn't, would you leave me?" she asked without looking at him.

"Is there a true possibility that you might not want to get married?" he asked, although it scared him to do so.

"Yes," she said hesitantly.

Would he leave her? He had thought of that before, and he was sure he wouldn't, but that would change many things, more than Hermione could possibly know. The fact that he originally pursued her only to marry her was undeniably less than honourable. Although, the reasons he wanted to marry her now were completely different.

He finally spoke. "Hermione, I'll tell you what. If you show up at the wedding tomorrow, then I'll know that you want to get married. If you don't, then I'll know that you don't, but you have to decide this one on your own. It's not as simple as deciding what you want to have to drink. I'm going to the house. I'm going to cancel the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We don't need the added stress. If you want to come back tonight, I'll have your things put in one of the guestrooms. If you want to get married tomorrow, then I will see you then." He let her go and started to walk away.

"What are you going to do with the rest of the evening?" she asked him.

"I need some rest. I've had a hell of a day today, and in case you haven't heard, I'm getting married tomorrow, so I need my beauty rest." He was trying to convey a lighthearted feeling, which he really did not feel.

As he was walking away, she ran up to him and said, "If I don't show up tomorrow, are we over? You never really answered my question."

"Do you want us to be over, Hermione?" he asked sadly.

"No," she answered honestly.

"Then, no we aren't over. It'll just means that we aren't getting married. It also means that you better get a job soon, to help me pay off the big fine that will be imposed against me." He put on a fake smile, but all the while, his heart felt as if it was ripped to shreds with shards of glass.

**Friday, afternoon: ****  
**  
He arrived back at the house and saw that the house elves had been very busy. Not only were most of their belongings moved in, but also the house was all decorated for the wedding tomorrow. He called one of the elves to him and told her to contact the entire guest list for the rehearsal dinner, and to cancel for tonight, but to tell them the wedding was still happening. Then he told another elf to move Hermione's things temporarily into one of the guestrooms. He told them not to disturb him, and to wake him if Hermione came home.

He walked into the master suite and sat on the bed. There was already a picture of Hermione and Draco on the bedside table. They were smiling and happy in the picture. What a lie, he thought. He took the picture and flung it across the room, where the glass shattered against the wall. He would clean it later, he decided. He was too tired, too spent, to worry about it now. He lay back on his bed and then he did something he hadn't done for such a long time. Draco Malfoy began to cry. He cried because he knew he had probably lost her forever. He cried because he still had not told her the whole truth, and he cried because he had let the whole situation get so out of hand. Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone? Why couldn't she see that none of this mattered anyway? Why couldn't she just love him as much as he loved her?

**Friday late afternoon, at the Ministry:**

Hermione walked to Harry's office door and knocked. She let herself in before he even answered. "Hey, Hermione, I just got an owl from one of your house elves saying that the wedding rehearsal was cancelled, but that the wedding was still on. What gives?"

She looked at him, and then sat on the chair across from his desk and started to cry. "What's going on, Hermione?" he asked as he moved to kneel beside her chair.

"Where do I begin?" she answered. She told him how her suspicions about the reason Draco was marrying her were true. She told Harry about how Draco pursued her in the beginning with the intent to marry her, before he even knew if he loved her. She told him everything, except for the fact that Draco slapped her. She was embarrassed about that, because she knew it was wrong of Draco, and she didn't want Harry to become upset and perhaps hurt Draco in retaliation.

Harry was still very angry. He told Hermione to go to his house, and spend the night there. He told her if she still wanted to marry Malfoy tomorrow, then he would be there to support her. He said he had somewhere to go and for Hermione to tell Ginny he would be home soon. She took him up on this offer and left for his flat. He waited until she was gone and then he decided to go confront Draco Malfoy.

**Friday evening: **

Harry went to Edgewood and knocked on the door. One of the house elves answered and Harry said, "Please tell your master that Mr. Harry Potter would like a word with him." The house elf showed Harry into the foyer and went upstairs. After only a few moments, the little elf came back downstairs.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Harry Potter," the little elf said, "but Master Malfoy told me to tell Mr. Harry Potter to go straight to hell, sir." Harry stormed directly up the stairs, two at a time, and headed toward the master suite. He didn't even give Malfoy the satisfaction of a knock. He just barged right in. He found Draco on the bed, with both arms covering his face.

"Get up, Malfoy!" Harry demanded.

"Didn't my house elf give you my message?" Draco asked, without looking. "Go to hell, Potter." Please, Draco thought.

"I mean it, Malfoy; stand up this instant so I can knock you back down on your arse." Harry said in anger.

"What's got your scar all fired up, Pothead?" Draco said while standing.

"Don't act like you don't know!" Harry yelled.

"So, I take it you spoke to Granger," Malfoy said.

"Yes, and she told me all about what happened this afternoon," Harry seethed.

"Everything?" Now Draco was worried.

"Yes, you bastard," Harry responded.

"Okay, Potter, listen, this really doesn't concern you. She's upset because I told her about this little marriage law, but in the long run it doesn't matter, because I love her and I want to marry her because of that reason alone," Draco implored to the angry man in front of him.

"That's not what I'm referring to, and you know it, Malfoy," Harry spat.

"Listen, Potter, I didn't mean to slap her, but to her credit, she gave as good as she got," Draco tried to explain.

'WHAT!' Harry thought. His face was actually turning red, and all of the sudden Draco knew that _was not_ what Harry was referring. She apparently had not told him EVERYTHING. "You hit, Hermione?" Harry screamed. Before Draco had time to get his wand, Harry drew his and hit Draco with a curse that sent him halfway across the room. He landed against the far wall, in a heap on the floor, in a great deal of pain. Potter actually walked over the bed, walked up to the man on the floor, and put one foot on Malfoy's chest.

"If I ever hear of you laying even one more finger on her, I will not hesitate to kill you, but that wasn't even what I was talking about, you pile of shite. I was talking about the fact that you didn't have the balls to tell her the whole truth." Harry pressed harder on Draco's chest as he spoke.

Draco put both hands on Harry's foot, but he was in a lot of pain, and he was too weak to remove the foot. "What would you know about the truth, Potter?" Malfoy sneered from his position on the floor.

"You know what I'm talking about, Malfoy. After Hermione's little chat with Charlie Weasley, I took it upon my self to find out what was going on. I went and talked to Percy himself, and I asked him what this law. Do you want to know what the Minister of Magic revealed to me, Malfoy? What he revealed to me, under the strictest of confidence, and with a vow that I wouldn't repeat it to anyone?" Harry continued, "I'm talking about the fact that there was a certain little stipulation in that law that stated if a pureblood married a Muggle-born, he not only would never have to pay a fine, but that he would actually be awarded a large sum of money, in fact, one million galleons. Does this ring a bell, Malfoy?" Finally, Harry picked his foot up off Draco's chest, and Draco struggled to stand.

"I didn't tell her that part!" Draco replied, "So what? What good would it have done? It is not as if that's why I am marrying her. It's not as if I need the money. I admit that it was something that I thought of after we started dating, but that certainly isn't why I asked her to marry me. I asked her to marry me because I love her!" Draco sat back down on the bed. He hurt all over from being thrown halfway across the room and landing against a wall.

"You wouldn't know love if it spit in your face, Malfoy," Harry said distastefully. "I don't care if I swore to Percy to keep the truth from Hermione, so help me Malfoy, if you don't tell her the whole truth, I will." Harry started toward the door.

"IT SERVES NO PURPOSE!" Draco yelled as loud as he could. "It serves no purpose, and it doesn't change the fact that I love her."

"Tell her, Malfoy, of by God, I will," Harry said as he turned to walk out the door. He amended his previous statement, "Tell her Malfoy, because a lie of omission is still a lie." Then Harry left.

He left Malfoy alone in his bedroom, and with his thoughts. He **would not** tell her. No one could make him. He needed to go on to bed. His headache from that morning returned, and he desperately needed the day to end. Tomorrow would be here soon enough. While he wanted to be truthful to Hermione, he still wanted some type of relationship with her, and if he revealed the whole truth, that would be the beginning of the end. A lie of omissions was still a lie. What a stupid prat Potter was. Stupid Potter.

_(End of Day 7) *coming up next, the wedding._


	8. Day Eight Saturday Another Week in t

**all characters belong to JKR**

* * *

**Day Eight - The Wedding Day - The Final Day in "Another Week in the Life"**

* * *

**Another Saturday Morning: Their Wedding Day:**

Hermione had so much trouble sleeping last night. When she finally fell asleep, it was only to be woken back up by the sound of Harry peeping into their guestroom and saying, "Wake up Hermione." She was disoriented at first. She forgot she was at Harry's house. She wondered what Draco was doing right now. Was he getting ready for the "big day"? She reluctantly rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen to eat some breakfast, even though her stomach was doing somersaults.

She ate and then apparated to Edgewood, where one of their house elves met her. "Master Malfoy told me to put Miss Granger's things in the guestroom. Your wedding dress is ready for you and I have already drawn you a bath."

"Thank you. Will you tell Master Malfoy I'm home?" Hermione requested.

"Master Malfoy is away," the little elf said, leading Hermione upstairs.

"Do you know where he is?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"No, I don't know where the Master might be," the little elf replied.

Hermione went into the guestroom and saw her dress hanging on the wardrobe. She hoped she would get to wear it today. She would if Malfoy showed up. She promised him she wouldn't leave him at the altar, but he made no similar declaration. She lowered herself in the bath and contemplated what she would do if he didn't show up. Would she be able to forgive him? Did they really leave things that broken last night?

Wanting to rid herself of the feeling of gloom, she got out of the tub and proceeded to fix her hair and makeup. She would not think bad thoughts right now. He was definitely going to show up. At least, he had better. As she walked into her room to get her dress, she saw the new little cat chasing Crookshanks across the floor. That made Hermione temporarily forget her dilemma and smile.

She put on her dress, but couldn't manage all the buttons up the back by herself. She was about to call out for one of the house elves, when one appeared at her door before she could. "Miss Granger, your guests are arriving."

Hermione opened the door and asked the servant if Draco was home yet. The elf shook his large head no. She was about to shut her bedroom door when Harry and Ron appeared at the threshold. She smiled at them and said, "Just in time, I need someone to button my dress." Ron stepped in, went around to her back, and finished buttoning her dress.

He then kissed her cheek and said, "You look bloody beautiful, Hermione." Harry came up and gave her a kiss as well and just smiled his concurrence at that remark.

Hermione asked, "What time is it?"

"Nearly time," Harry said.

"Have you guys seen Malfoy?" she asked.

"No, why, isn't he here?" Harry asked frostily.

Before Hermione could respond, Blaise Zabini appeared at the bedroom door. "Hey chaps, mind if I speak to the bride for a moment; alone?" Before they could answer in the affirmative, he pushed them out the door and shut it tight.

Blaise entered the room, whistled, and then said, "You look lovely."

"Cut the crap, Zabini, where's Malfoy?" she asked crossly.

"Well, Granger, that's the thing, I really don't know. As soon as I got here, I looked for him and couldn't locate the bastard. I asked one of your elves if they had seen him lately and they said he left last night. Now, he didn't come to my house, or to the manor; because I already checked. I also checked your old flat. What happened? He wouldn't leave you at the altar, would he?" Zabini concluded.

"I hope not," she said quietly.

"What happened?" Blaise asked while sitting on the bed.

"We discussed everything he was withholding from me, we fought, but I thought we still left each other under the assumption that the wedding was a go, but maybe I was wrong," Hermione said flatly.

"He told you everything?" Blaise said unbelievably.

"Yes," she responded.

"Interesting," he responded.

"What if he doesn't show?" Hermione said with a tear falling from her eye.

"Do you want me to go down and tell the guests to leave?" Blaise asked. "I would love to tell all those former little Gryffindors to go to hell and not come back," he tried to joke. "Or, you could just marry me instead."

She walked up to him and hugged him. That shocked him to the core. She walked to the door to tell Harry and Ron to tell the guests to leave; there would be no wedding today. As she walked out of the room and approached her two friends, who were standing at the top of the stairs, Draco suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Hermione's hand and said, "Let's get this bloody wedding over."

He was practically dragging her down the stairs, with Harry and Ron in tow. As if he just remembered that her friends were supposed to walk her down the stairs, he turned to them and said, "We won't need your services today, Pothead and Weasel boy. We can make it down the steps ourselves." Harry glared at Malfoy and Ron looked like he was about to hit him. However, Hermione looked at her two best friends and just nodded at them to go on downstairs.

She looked at Malfoy, who had at least managed to put his dress robes on, and asked, "Where have you been?" in hushed tones.

"Don't have time to make chit-chat, Granger, we have people waiting. We're getting married, you know?" He then started back down the steps holding onto her hand. One of the house elves magically started music and Draco yelled out, "Stop that damn racket this instant. I have a hell of a hangover and that music is giving me a headache!"

He walked to the bottom of the stairs, still pulling Hermione along, when she came to a complete stop. "Let me go," she said pleading.

"No, it's our wedding day and if I want to hold your bloody, fucking, hand, I will, so stop whining and get your arse down here," he said. He yanked her hand to make her take the last two steps of the stairs and she almost stumbled.

Harry walked up to them and said, "Let her go, you git."

"Go to hell, Potter, just once and for all, go to fucking hell," Draco said while running his free hand through his hair.

The Officiate didn't know whether to start the ceremony or not. Finally, Hermione spoke. "Go home everyone; there'll be no wedding today."

"Who the hell are you, Granger, to decide whether or not there'll be a wedding?" Draco yelled at her.

Blaise walked up to his friend and tried to pull his hand from Hermione's, for which he still had a death grip, but Draco gave him such a glare that Blaise thought better and took two steps back.

"Start the fucking ceremony," Draco told the Officiate.

The little old wizard looked at Draco, then to Hermione, and said, "I don't think so."

Draco drew his wand at the little man, and said, "I SAID START THE CEREMONY!"

Before Draco knew what was happening, about twenty people drew their wands, and they were all pointed directly at him. Soon everyone was yelling at him and his friends drew their wands and started yelling at Hermione's friends. Hermione simply stood there in silence. The whole display was surreal. It was as if she was watching the whole scene from the sidelines, instead of being a participant.

Finally, she yelled, "STOP IT! EVERYONE STOP IT!" Without a doubt, that stop all the yelling and name-calling, but not one person put their wand away, including Malfoy. "Let go of my hand, Draco. I'll marry you, but stop being a prat," she said calmly, as if she was asking him how he would like his tea. Malfoy let go of her hand and put his wand away. Soon all the other guests put their wands away as well.

Harry stepped up to Hermione and said, "You can't marry him, Hermione."

"I promised him, Harry," she offered. She turned back toward the Officiate, not once making eye contact with Draco, and told the old wizard to start the ceremony. He started the ceremony, but Hermione didn't hear one word he said. She was having an outer body experience. Inside she was crying, and screaming, and begging Draco to tell her what was happening. Outside, she stood there pliant, although it was all subterfuge.

The Officiate rushed through the ceremony and when he got to the part where he told the bride and groom to kiss, Hermione turned toward Draco and said, "Don't you dare kiss me."

"We'll do this right, Granger," he seethed, and he took her command as a challenge. He grabbed both her upper arms and pulled her toward his body.

"I mean it, Malfoy, I'm not kissing you," she declared.

"That doesn't mean I'm not kissing you," he spat. Therefore, he kissed her. He assaulted her lips with a fury and a hunger that in no way held passion, only brute force. He kissed her roughly and she struggled under his assault. Soon most of the wedding guests were once again shouting. Mostly, they were yelling at Draco to let go of Hermione.

He released his fingers from her upper arms, leaving behind the start of bruises, and put one hand in her hair and one hand around her waist. He tried to deepen the kiss, but she resisted. She kept her mouth shut tight, so in anger he bit her bottom lip hard, and when she went to cry out in pain, he forced his tongue in her mouth. She fought him and began to whimper in pain and humiliation. He was still assaulting her lips with as much abuse as he could, and finally Harry said, "Let her go or die, Malfoy."

He continued his kiss, for that was what it was, it was his kiss, not theirs. She took no ownership in the exploit. Finally, to save his friend's life, since Potter was about to end it, Blaise took hold of Malfoy's arm and pried it from her waist and said, "Stop it, Malfoy!"

He finally let her go and she stumbled back away from him with a look of fear, mingled with disgust. Her lips were red and swollen and there was blood at the corner of her mouth from where he bit her. Her arms already had bruises on them and her hair was falling all over the place.

"Let's go have a toast to the happy couple!" Draco exclaimed as he pushed past Hermione and headed toward the living room, where the reception was to take place.

"Everyone go home. Leave now, please," Hermione said in a steady voice. Ron reiterated what she said to everyone and they all started to leave. Finally, only Harry, Ron and Blaise remained. Hermione ran up the stairs with Harry and Ron on her heels. Blaise sauntered into the lounge, only to find Malfoy sitting in the middle of the table with a bottle of champagne in his hand.

"That was a bloody good show, Malfoy," Blaise said with a smirk, "Just when I thought you could never top yourself, you do. I mean, you're already the biggest bastard I know, but this really takes the cake."

"Oh, do you want some wedding cake?" a drunken Malfoy asked.

"Not right now. Tell me what's going on here? Why are you acting like this? If anyone should have been upset here today, it was Hermione. Although, I'm sure she's upset now," Blaise told him.

When Draco didn't respond, Blaise yelled at him, "What the hell was that about, you stupid, bloody wanker?"

"Oh, haven't you heard?" Draco said, almost as if he was regaling a bedtime story to a child, "I told Granger all about the stupid, bloody, pureblood, marriage rubbish and she took it rather well, considering."

When no more information was forthcoming, Blaise said, "So?"

"Well," Draco began, "fucking Potter had to remind me that a lie of omission is still a lie, and apparently I forgot to tell her everything, so he took it upon himself to tell her."

"What did you omit to tell her?" Blaise asked curiously.

Draco stood on top of the table and started kicking things off the top, as if he was playing football. He said, "Oh, just this and that. Like the fact that if a pureblood marries a Muggle-born, not only do they not have any sanctions imposed on them, but they actually get a cash settlement." Then Draco jumped off the table and threw the bottle of champagne across the room, where it shattered against the mantle.

"So, you didn't tell her that part. So what? It's not like that's why you're marrying her," Blaise tried to point out.

"Stupid Potter told her. He told me if I didn't, then he would," Draco whined.

"I don't think he told her, and even if he did, it must not matter to her because she was all ready to marry you anyway. So, the way I see it, you just ruined your wedding for nothing, you stupid fool," said Blaise, chastising him.

Draco went to get another bottle of champagne and said, "Of course he told her. She was probably only going through with the ceremony to save face." Then he walked up on the table again and yelled, "That's what everyone will think anyway. They won't think this is a real marriage. They'll think she only married me for my money and they'll think I only married her because she's a Mudblood." He walked to the center of the table and at that moment, he failed to realize that Hermione and her friends had just entered the room. "That's right, Zabini! I just married Granger because she's a stupid, bloody Mudblood and now the Ministry better give me my cash settlement! Give me my money you bastards!"

Zabini, who saw the trio enter, said, "You're a wanker, Malfoy. You don't deserve her." He left the room, and as Draco turned to watch his former friend leave, that was when he saw her standing in the doorway. She gasped and started to run out of the room. He jumped back down off the table, but slipped on the wet floor and fell on his back. He momentary couldn't move. Harry and Ron walked up to him to pick him up. He feared it was so they could drop him back down on his arse.

"I never told her that part, Malfoy," Harry said without emotion. "I assume you didn't either, at least not until right now. Stay away from her. We'll get this marriage annulled. Get the hell out of here." Malfoy swayed as he stood and started toward the front door and then decided to run after her. He started up the stairs, when without warning he was hit with a curse. He fell back down the stairs, unconscious. Harry and Ron, who had both drawn their wands, looked at Zabini in shock.

Blaise was standing over Draco's body, with his wand out, and said, "Someone had to do it, and I rather enjoyed that." He then told Harry and Ron he would take Draco to his flat to sleep off the alcohol and the stunning spell.

As soon as they left, Harry told Ron to go see to their wives and he would stay with Hermione. Ron however, refused. "She's my friend too, Harry. I'll stay as well."

**After the fiasco: **

Harry and Ron had no choice but to sit outside her bedroom door, with their backs against the wall, in the hallway. The reason was that Hermione had locked her door using who knows how many locking spells. Several times one or both men would put their ears to the door, but not once did they hear her cry. Maybe she had put up a silencing spell as well. They would never know. Occasionally, one of them would say things at the door like, "Hermione, it'll be okay," or "Hermione please let us in," but again, no response was forthcoming from the witch locked in the bedroom.

After a couple of hours, they found out the hard way that there was no silencing spell on the room. They heard the sounds of breaking glass, breaking furniture, and yelling. It sounded like Hurricane Hermione. She finally screamed a gut wrenching scream that sounded as if it was emitted from the depths of her soul. After that, silence was again their only indication that she was in the room.

**Saturday evening:**

After a few hours, Blaise Zabini came walking back upstairs. Ron and Harry stood up and he told them, "I'm alone, don't worry. Draco's sound asleep at my flat." He then walked up to the door and said, "Hermione, its Blaise. May I come in?"

To Harry's and Ron's astonishment, the door opened and Zabini was admitted entrance. He closed the door behind him and sat next to Hermione on the bed.

"That was an interesting wedding," he said casually, as if he was mentioning the weather. When she didn't respond, he said, "Draco thought Harry told you about the Muggle-born clause of the law. He came here tonight fully with the thought that you wouldn't be here. He thought you would leave him at the altar. He told me he was shocked when he saw you standing there in your dress. He didn't know what to do."

"So he ruined our wedding?" Hermione finally spoke.

"Yeah, I guess that's what he decided was best. He probably thought you would stop it at some point, so he might as well be the bastard we all know he can be. I don't know what goes on in his head," Blaise said truthfully. Then he said, "What you heard him say tonight in the dining room, about him only marrying you because you are a Mudblood, well, that was taken out of context. He just said that because he thought that was what you thought. For what its worth and I realize it's not worth much at this point, he really does love you."

"I know," answered Hermione meekly.

"You know I lied to you too, Hermione," he told her, while holding her hand.

"Yeah? What was your lie?" she asked.

"That day at the restaurant when you asked me if Draco ever showed any interest in you before you started dating, I told you no; that was a lie. I remember back in fourth year after the Tri-Wizard Yule ball, Draco and I, under strictest secrecy, confided to each other that you were the most beautiful girl there that night. Then after this whole pureblood marriage shite came to pass, he said he had always fancied you and that if it was the last thing he was going to do, he was going to make you his. He said that now he had the perfect excuse to date you and if any pureblood wizard questioned his choice, he could just pretend it was because of the law." At that, Hermione turned to look at him. "But, he confided his true feeling to me and me alone. He said he really liked you, and, I know that he did. Also, I know that he now loves you, as much as Draco Malfoy can love someone, he loves you." With that, Blaise stood to leave and ended with, "I'm not saying forgive him right away. You should make him suffer a little, but then you should forgive him." With that, the former Slytherin left the room.

As Blaise was leaving, Harry and Ron took that opportunity to slip in the room. Hermione was curled in a ball on the bed at that point, but not crying. She was just merely there. Harry came up to her and started rubbing her back. "Hermione, come home with me tonight."

She sat up and said, "This is my home. Draco gave me this house as a wedding present. I'm not leaving."

"Then we'll both stay here with you tonight," Ron said.

"Fine, I don't care. Sleep in one of the other rooms, just leave me alone for now." She went to the bathroom to slip out of her dress when she remembered the stupid buttons. "Ron, will you help me with the buttons again?" she asked. He nodded and went up to her and unbuttoned her dress. She turned around, said, "Thank you", and walked into the bathroom. Harry and Ron took that as their invitation to leave, so they walked out of the room, shut the door, and went to one of the guestrooms as she suggested.

**Saturday Night: ****  
**  
Hermione pulled the covers over her body. She felt numb. She still had yet to cry. She had screamed, cursed, and destroyed most of the room, but no tears. She didn't even know for what reason she should cry. Should she cry because he ruined their wedding day? Should she cry because he had not been completely truthful to her? On the other hand, should she cry because she did this to him? She caused him to be so insecure of her feeling for him, because he was so afraid of her leaving him, that he felt he should act like a bastard to save face.

Whatever…she was tired. She didn't even feel like putting on a nightgown. She was still in her knickers and bra. Crookshanks suddenly jumped up on her bed and she said, "You still love me, don't you, boy? Even if Malfoy doesn't love me anymore, at least I still have you. This was my wedding day, old boy. Did you know that?" She asked the cat as she stroked his ears. He jumped off the bed and left her alone. "Even you leave me, huh?" she said, and then finally she started to cry.

In the midst of her tears, she didn't see the dark figure that sat on the floor in the corner of the bedroom. The intruder was watching her cry. He heard her come back into the room, talk to her cat, and then start to cry. The trespasser stood and walked up to her bed. He sat on the bed and said, "Why are you crying, Granger?"

She didn't flinch. She didn't seem surprised that he was there, even though she was. "Why do you always ask me why I'm crying?" she asked, without looking at him.

"I wouldn't have to ask that if you weren't always crying," he said back to her.

She started crying harder and started rocking herself back and forth, seeking comfort from herself, or some unknown source. "Why did you ruin our wedding?" she asked.

"I had nothing better to do today," he said flippantly.

"I hate you," she responded.

"So you think. I think if you hated me, you wouldn't be crying," he told her.

"Why are you here?" she asked, while still hiding her face in her pillow.

"It's my wedding night. It is tradition for the newlyweds to spend their wedding night together. Didn't you know that, Hermione?" he asked with an air of sarcasm.

"Get out of my house," she said as she sat up and pointed toward the door.

"No," he said plainly. She tried to kick him off the bed, but he pressed his body against her legs to stop her.

"Harry and Ron are right down the hall. All I have to do is shout for them and they'll forcibly remove you, so get out!" She lay back down, covered her face with her hands and started weeping again.

"Go ahead and scream. I don't care. I'm not leaving. This is my house, too, and I have every right to be here," he said softly, as he lay down beside her. He began to stroke her arm. After a moment, he pulled back the covers and crawled in beside her. She was still weeping and he cradled her in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Draco," she said through her tears.

"Goodness, Granger, you didn't do anything, why are you sorry?" he said soothingly.

"For doubting how you felt about me. How you feel about me. I know you love me. I'm the one that ruined everything. I made everything so difficult for you at every turn. I don't even know why you stuck by me," she whispered.

"I stuck by you because I love you, Hermione," he explained.

"It's too late," she told him.

"No, it's not," he told her back.

"Yes, it is. You need to go. We can stay married, but it'll be in name only. I don't want you here." She cried harder. He sat up in the bed and with his wand, he locked the door and said a silencing charm, just in case she did try to yell for her friends to come and remove him.

He fell back on the pillows and turned to face her. "I don't think you really want me to go. You were just crying for me. I think I'll stay."

"Please, please leave," she sobbed.

"No, I told you, it's my wedding night and I'm spending it with my wife." He pulled her to him and started kissing her tear soaked cheeks. Then he said, "Tell me what do you really want, Hermione? What do you want deep in your heart of hearts?"

"I want to forgive you, but I don't think I can," she said, looking up at his face.

"I don't care for your forgiveness, so no worries there. I just want your love," he said and he started to kiss her face again. He kissed her forehead, then both cheeks. She didn't push him away.

After a moment, she pulled away, put her hands on his chest and said, "I want you to leave, you want to stay. We're at an impasse." She shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

"We have been through too much, Hermione, to let this put us asunder," he said softly. "I love you. I know you love me. We'll be all right. I don't care what everyone else thinks or what everyone might say. I just know that we're meant to be together. I need you as I need oxygen to breathe, and water to live. I need you. I love you." He started to kiss her all over again and she started crying harder.

It actually felt good, to be held by him. To be kissed by him. She loved him so much. Even if she never forgave him, one truth remained imminent; she loved him. So she kissed him for all it was worth, and to Draco, it was worth a lot. That was what he had wanted to do all day, all week. Just hold her in his arms and kiss her senseless. It felt so good to hold her, to touch her, to kiss her.

He moved from his side to his back and pulled her on top of him. She was overwhelming him with her force and apparent lust. She was aggressive instead of reserved. She was consumed with her want for him. He wanted her tonight and for all time. She wanted him as well and was eager to show him as much. As she lay on top of his stomach, she nuzzled, kissed, and licked his neck. She sat up and ripped off his shirt. She fell back against him and straddled his body.

"I love you," she said hoarsely.

"I love you," he breathlessly answered back.

His head swam as she buried her face in his neck and her lips assaulted his. He trembled as she licked her way down his torso, to his belly, and back up again. She pulled at the waistband of his trousers and he helped her remove them. She sat back on his hips and he stroked her spine with his hands. He reached up and removed her bra. He sat up as well and buried his face in her ample breasts. He sucked, kissed, and teased, as he never had before.

She pulled away from him and removed her knickers. Then she sat back down on his body and moved down to his aching need and envelope him in her mouth. Her tongue swirled his tip, and he felt like he was falling off the edge of a cliff. He shuddered underneath her ministrations and the sensation of his pleasure sent shockwaves through them both. He wondered how much more he could take before his whole body exploded. He reached down to cup her face and pulled her off him. He pulled her back up his body, wanting to feel closer to her. He turned her over and put his body on top of hers.

He could spend his entire life languishing her with kisses on her luscious lips. He moved his lips from hers and brought them to her swollen breasts, which were begging to be kissed. He continued to flick his tongue back and forth between her breasts, teasing her nipples, making her cry out for his touch. She rocked her hips and he placed his hand between them and brought her to near orgasm with his hand.

Her skin was soft, warm, and moist against his mouth and hands. He kissed every inch of her. He put both hands on her cheeks and smiled at her. She smiled back. He leaned in to kiss her as he slid himself into her. The pleasure he felt was nothing compared to the pleasure he was giving her. She felt it in her soul.

He rocked his hips against hers, seeking the closeness that he knew they and they alone could share. He was so deep inside her that she ached to her core. She was shocked when he smiled at her again. How could he smile at a time like this? What she didn't know, was that he was smiling because at that exact moment he felt happier than he had ever felt his entire life.

He arched his back and he felt her clutching at his shoulders. The moment of their mutual climax was a defining moment. They were now one. With that single act of lovemaking, they were truly one. One soul, one life, and one being, forever. When they were finished, he held her to his chest and traced her face with one finger. He could hear her heartbeat. She could hear his. He leaned up on his elbow and stared at her as she reclined on her back. He pushed her hair out of her face. He felt an utter contentment that he never thought was possible. She felt it as well.

He cupped her face with his hand and said, "Now tell me what you want, Hermione. What do you really want?" She reached for the hand on her face and kissed his palm. He put the same hand to rest on her stomach.

She answered him the only way she knew how. She leaned up on her arm and facing him, she kissed him sweetly, and said, "I want you."

_THE END_

_(Coming up next, the third part, "A Third Week in the Life.")_


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